What's In a Name?
by donna2712
Summary: While on holiday's with Delilah, Tim uncovers a secret that could tear the team apart. Who is the man Tim has known for 13 years? From what he has found out, Tony DiNozzo died forty years ago. Tony centred but including Gibbs, McGee, Fornell and A DiNozzo Sr.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTES: Hi, sorry it took me so long to come back, but after Michael left NCIS I kind of lost interest. However, I recently went through my files and found this story, nearly complete so I decided to complete it. It is set in Season 12. I hope you enjoy and please drop me a comment.**

 **Chapter 1:**

The elevator dinged and when the doors slid open Tim McGee walked into the all too familiar squad room of NCIS. Usually these tangerine coloured walls made him feel secure and happy, but not today. Today these walls were oppressive, the smell was stale and damp and the rainy day only added to the feeling of dread that permeated his body. Something in Tim's world had been changed, something that caused his work to no longer be a place of joy, but rather a place of anxiety and fear.

He walked past Tony and Bishop and heard part of their conversation that appeared to be about something mundane as usual. He walked straight past them without acknowledging their conversation and placed his bag behind his desk and looked around.

"Morning McIgnorant," Tony said from his desk and judging by the pencil to the back of the head that came with that greeting, it wasn't the first time they had said it.

"Hum… what … oh yeah, morning," he replied distractedly. "Where's Gibbs? I need to talk to him."

"Gonna have to wait McGee, we have a dead Admiral to investigate," Gibbs said as breezed past McGee to grab his gun and badge.

"It's important Gibbs," McGee said and received a stern look from Gibbs.

"I don't know if you heard me McGee but I said we have a dead _Admiral_ so unless your problem involves a life and death situation it is going to have to wait. So does it?" Gibbs asked getting up close and personal to McGee.

"Does it what?" Tim asked pulling his head back to try and gain some room between their noses.

"Life or death McGee?" Gibbs said in a deliberately quiet voice.

Tim thought for a moment, "Ah, no, I guess not boss." Gibbs spun on his heals and headed out the door with Tony and Bishop close behind, shooting looks of amusement Tim's way. Tim grabbed his gear and followed them out the door. It was going to have to wait.

The team spent the remainder of that day working the crime scene and investigating the death of one of the highest-ranking officials of the US Navy. It was obvious from the start that the death was accidental, a drunken mishap, but because of who the victim was, every _I_ had to be dotted and every _T_ crossed.

Everyone on the team couldn't help but notice how agitated and jumpy Tim appeared to be. Tony even had to reprimand him when he called Tim over to look at something and Tim responded with a suspicious, "Why?"

"Because I am the Senior Field Agent and I told you to that is why!" When Tim came over to Tony he was shooting him sidewards glances that quite frankly was making Tony uncomfortable. Tim looked like he expected Tony's head to spin around Poltergeist style. He pulled him aside and quietly but firmly told him, "Tim, I don't know what is going on with you today, but pull your head out of your arse and do your job. We can't afford to get anything wrong on this case. If you can't do it to the best of your ability, then excuse yourself."

"You're right Tony, I'm sorry, I'll be fine."

Tony clapped him on the shoulder, "Good boy Tim. Oh and you're welcome by the way."

Again, Tim gave Tony a look that sent shivers down his spine, "Welcome for what?"

"That I was the one who spoke to you before Gibbs did. He's been giving you a weird look since we started. Kind of like the ones you have been giving me by the way, what's up with that anyway?"

McGee looked down at his notepad, "I don't know what you are talking about Tony, I haven't been giving you any looks."

"Yeah right! Do you think I'm…"

"DINOZZO! Stop the jibber jabber and get your arse over here before I come and kick it for you!" Gibbs bellowed from across the way.

Tony shot Tim a withering glance, "On it Boss!" Tony backed away but before he turned he pointed his two fingers at his eyes then turned the hand and pointed them at Tim's using the international hand signal for ' _I'm watching you.'_

Tim took a calming breath and continued on with the work. The sooner he spoke to Gibbs the better.

It was late by the time the team was finished for the day. Gibbs told them all to go home and get some sleep. Tony and Bishop didn't think twice before grabbing their gear and heading back to their homes.

Tim took the opportunity to step over to Gibbs desk. "Can I talk to you now Boss?"

"It's late McGee, can it wait until tomorrow?" Gibbs asked.

"No, I don't think it can."

"Ok, spill it then."

"Not here, can we go somewhere private?"

Gibbs looked around, there were only a couple of people left on the floor, he raised an eyebrow and looked back at Tim.

"I don't want anyone else to hear what I have to say," Tim insisted.

Gibbs sighed and stood up, "Fine, lets go into the interview room."

When they entered the room, Tim checked no one was near the door before he shut it and checked that the camera in the corner wasn't recording. "What the hell is going on McGee! What's with the cloak and dagger."

Tim took a deep breath and handed Gibbs an envelope.

"What's this?" Gibbs said opening it up and looking at a photo of a family of four.

"That is a photo of Tony DiNozzo and his family."

Gibbs looked down at the dark haired, olive skinned family, "What are you talking about. This doesn't look anything like Tony or his father."

"That's the point Gibbs." Tim pointed at the photo and at the little boy of about six years of age. " _This_ is Anthony DiNozzo Junior," he then pointed toward the wall behind which the squad room was, "and I have _no_ idea who that man out there is."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Tim and Delilah had just finished having a coffee at the beachside café when they decided to take a walk around the quaint seaside village. Tim pushed Delilah's chair and they would stop and look at a few things here and there when something across the road caught McGee's eye. "Huh!"

"What are you Huh-ing at babe?" Delilah asked as she ran her hands down a particularly attractive scarf.

"Across the road there," he nodded in the direction he was looking so Delilah turned and saw the same thing.

"Huh!"

"Let's go look." Tim turned Delilah's chair and they headed across the road to the tailor shop that had caught their attention; _DiNozzo's Finery_.

"You just want to see if you can get some embarrassing childhood story to tease him with."

"And the problem with that is?…" Tim asked as they cross the threshold of the neat, albeit small store.

"I will be with you in just a moment," came a man's voice from the back after hearing the bell over the door chime.

"You're fine, no rush," Tim called back as he looked at the quality suits in front of him.

"The love of a good suit must be in their genes," Delilah commented, "Wow these are really nice. Do you think they are related?"

Tim shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't think there were too many DiNozzo's around, Tony has always called them a dying breed."

"It would be strange for Tony not to mention he has a tailor as a relative, considering how much he loves his Italian suits."

"Maybe he makes knock offs and all of Tony's suits are fakes and not real Armani or Dolce. Now that is a something I would love to have over him," Tim smiled.

"Hello my name is Roberto, how can I help you today?" Tim and Delilah turned to see a short elderly man with the bushiest eyebrows McGee had seen in some time. This hair was grey, full and curly and there was no doubt this man was Italian. He could be a caricature on a Pizza box with the name Giuseppe sprawled above him in spaghetti writing, although Roberto would work too.

Tim held out his hand and shook this man's hand, "Hi my name is Tim and this is my girlfriend Delilah. We aren't actually after any suits, but we saw the name on the store and had to come in. I think I might work with your nephew or something."

"Oh really, which one, Steven, Lewis or Anthony?"

"Anthony," McGee said.

"Oh, you work at the accounting firm with him."

"Ah, no, we work at NCIS together."

"What is NCIS?" Roberto asked with a quizzical look on his face.

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service, down in DC."

"No you must be mistaken, Anthony works at some big accounting firm in Miami. Something and Associates ... I can't remember the name."

Delilah noted the frown on Roberto's face, "We must have a different DiNozzo. I guess it was a long shot that you would be related it's just that Tony was from Long Island, this shop is on Long Island. Sorry to have disturbed you."

"Wait, are you saying that you work with someone who goes by the name Anthony DiNozzo? Spelt the same way?"

"Yep, big D, little I, big N, little ozzo. That's how he always spells it out to people."

"This can't be, there are no other DiNozzo's. We are the only ones. You see when my grandfather emigrated here in 1912 with our grandmother and our father the people on Ellis Island couldn't spell his name correctly. His real name was DiNozolio but that was too hard apparently so they shortened it to DiNozzo. My father was an only child and so you see, there _are_ no other DiNozzo's, just me and my brother Vincenzo."

"He doesn't own a butcher shop by any chance?" Tim asked starting to get a bad feeling.

"Yes he does," Roberto answered.

"And you never had a brother Anthony?" Tim asked, now going into investigator mode.

"Yes, we had a brother Anthony, but he and his family died in a car crash in 1976. His wife and their two children, Anthony Jr and Maria."

Deliliah and Tim traded glances. "I'm sorry but can I ask, how old was Anthony Jr when he died?"

Roberto scratched his head, "Which was the older, ah yes, Anthony was 8 and his sister was 6. It was such a tragedy. Our family never really got over it losing them all so young."

"You don't happen to have a photo of them by any chance."

"Ah, yes, come with me." Roberto lead them into the back of the store and showed them a framed photo of a family in a typical family portrait from the mid seventies. There was no doubt that the Anthony DiNozzo Jr in this photo could not possibly be the light skinned, green eyed Tony DiNozzo Tim had worked with for the last 12 years.

"Do you mind if I take a photo of this?" Tim asked and when Roberto gave his permission Tim produced his iPhone and took a couple of photos of the whole group, and close ups of both Anthony Junior and Senior.

"Do you think someone has been using my brother's name? Who is this man you are working with?"

"Look Mr DiNozzo, I am hoping this is just a big misunderstanding and we can get it all sorted out but in the meantime, would you just keep this between us? I don't want you to upset your family if this all turns out to be a mistake."

"Of course, of course, but please, can you let me know if anything comes of this. I would hate to think my dear brother is having his name used illegally."

"I will. And you are _positive_ that no one else could possibly have the name DiNozzo other than members of your family?"

"I suppose anything is possible but as I say, DiNozzo isn't the real family name. I guess another family may have been given the same name but to have both an Anthony and a Vincenzo who is a butcher? That seems unlikely," Roberto said.

Tim had to agree.

Gibbs listened patiently as McGee told his story, "And have you checked to see if there are any other DiNozzo's McGee."

"I quickly looked up the phonebook while we were there and there are no listings other than Vincenzo and who I assume are his three boys. Delilah and I only got home last night so I haven't had a chance to look any deeper than that."

"Ok, look into it McGee but not a _word_ of this to anyone, and tell Delilah that goes for her too. Is that clear."

"Crystal Boss," Tim said.

"And for God's sake, don't let Tony know what you are doing because either a: this is a big mistake and it will be all cleared up without him knowing we suspected him of identity fraud or b:…"

Tim looked up when Gibbs hesitated, "Or b: he _is_ guilty of identity fraud."

Gibbs nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

**NOTES: Just a quick not to thank everyone who has favourited and followed my story, and a huge thank you for everyone who has left me a review. It is very encouraging to know this story is tickling everyones fancy :). This story was set when Tony was dating Zoe is mentioned here and has a tiny part in upcoming chapters. Enjoy chapter 3.**

 **Chapter 3:**

Tim McGee arrived home only to find Tony in his apartment having a coffee with Delilah.

Delilah looks up at Tim, communicating non verbally that no, she doesn't know why he is here, and no, she hasn't told him anything.

Tony turns when he hears Tim come in, "Hey there McTardy."

Tim frowns and asks nervously, "Tony, what are you doing here. It's late."

"I know but I came here as soon as I left work. I expected you to be right behind me, not nearly an hour later. Delilah here was kind enough to entertain me until you turned up."

"You still haven't explained why you are here Tony," Tim asked actually starting to sound angry.

Tony frowned and looked at both Tim and Delilah who both were looking somewhat aprehensive, "Calm down McCranky, I came because I was worried about you. You haven't been yourself today all twitchy and … weird, well weirder than normal. I thought I would drop in and check everything was OK."

"Well everything is fine and it's late so…" Tim turned back towards the door and opened it, indicating that Tony was to leave.

Again Tony looked between the two of them, his mind analysing their actions and reactions to each other. He stood up, "OK then, well Delilah, thank you for the coffee, it was good to see you. Zoe wants to set up a double date with you guys so maybe that is something you might want to discuss with Timmy here when he is in less of a pissy mood."

"Yes, that sounds lovely, I am sure we can arrange something in the not to distant future," Delilah responded in an incredibly polite and formal way. She sounded like she was brushing off an annoying business associate, not someone who was supposed to be a close friend.

Again, Tony's suspicions were heightened. He turned and headed to the door, as he passed, Tim said "Good night Tony and thanks for dropping by," but before the door shut Tony spun around and held the door open with his hand and stepped back in closer to Tim.

In a quiet voice he said, "I don't know what is going on here Tim but it is obvious there is something bothering the two of you, and damned if it doesn't appear to be something to do with me. I've known you for a long time and I thought we trusted each other so if there is something you want to talk to me about you can. You know I don't like it when people do things behind my back, so if you want to know something, or want to say something to me, just do it OK. When you decide that you want to talk to be about whatever it is that has got you and Delilah jumpy as rabbits then you know where to find me. You know where I live, just like I know where you live. Kapeesh?" Tony squeezed Tim's shoulder and turned and walked away.

Tim shut the door behind him and took in what Tony just said to him. Did Tony just _threaten_ him? Did he know Tim was looking into his past? Was Tony willing to hurt him or Delilah to keep his secret?

"Tim, are you ok? What did he say to you?" Delilah asked as she wheeled her chair over to him.

"He just … I don't know … he said he could tell something was bothering me, both of us, and that he knew it was something about him. He said he didn't like people going behind his back and if I wanted to talk to him then I should. Then he said something about _'I know where you live. Kapeesh?'_ then squeezed my shoulder and walked away."

"What do you mean he 'squeezed your shoulder'? Did he hurt you?"

"No, he didn't hurt but it was …" Tim pinched the bridge of his nose, "I don't know, maybe I am reading too much into it. Did he say anything to you before I came?"

"Not really, we just talked about our holiday and he asked where we went?"

"What did you say? You didn't tell him we were in Long Island did you?"

"Not specifically, I mean he knew we were going up that way because we had already told him before we went. He just kind of asked if we liked it up there and if we saw anything interesting."

"Do you think he was fishing for information?" Tim asked.

"I don't think so it was just small talk … I think," Delilah shook her head in confusion, reanalysing their conversation in her head. One of Tony's best investigative skills was making the other person think he knew nothing, when he actually knew everything. She shook her head again, "Look now we are just getting paranoid. I am sure he was just here to check up on why you were acting so weird today like he said, and I really don't think he would have threatened you. I think you just misread the conversation."

"Maybe," Tim didn't sound convince. To be honest he wasn't sure if Tony did threaten him or he was just being paranoid.

"Did you manage to talk to Gibbs?"

"Yeah, that is why I was late, I finally managed to get a moment with him and tell him what we found out."

"So, what did he say?"

"I think like us he is just hoping it is some big misunderstanding, but he wants me to look into it a bit further."

"Well, what are we waiting for?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes: So glad this story is intriguing most of you. Here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Chapter 4:**

Tim and Delilah worked long into the night digging into the history of the DiNozzo clan. A search on and other family tree building sites seemed to confirm the story told to them by Roberto DiNozzo. His grandfather came through Ellis Island and between the Italian Passenger List and the Register of new immigrants through Ellis Island, their name was changed from Dinozolio to DiNozzo.

They also found that the Long Island paper "Newsday" had a email link where you could request articles from their entire back catalogue so Tim sent off an email to them requesting any information on Anthony DiNozzo and his family from the years 1960 through to 1980. After that here was really little else they could do but wait, so they went to bed to try and get a couple of hours sleep before work the next day.

Tim arrived back at work the next morning still exhausted from the night before and as he walked past Tony's desk, rather than receive a cheerful hello or a witty remark, Tony just watched him walk to his desk with a frown on his face.

Tim sat down and said, "Morning Tony. Morning Bishop," before turning on his computer.

Bishop responded brightly but he only received barely intelligible "morning," from Tony. He also noticed that Tony's response was not lost on Ellie Bishop and there had been some tension between them since Tim came back from his holiday, but she was not about to get in the middle of it. Hopefully whatever was annoying them about each other would sort itself out without her intervention … God she hoped so anyway.

Gibbs strode into the room and appeared seemingly oblivious to the tension between his team but was actually keenly aware of what was going on and the tightrope he had to walk between them. He knew Tim was trying to be discreet about what he found out, but unfortunately Tim wasn't very good at hiding his feelings and his suspiciousness towards Tony was shining through. He also knew that Tony didn't miss much that happened around him, even if he appeared to be nothing but a clown when at work, so Gibbs knew that Tony was fully aware of Tim's sudden withdrawal from Tony and he knew Tony wasn't about to shrug it off and hope it blew over. Tony liked to confront problems head on, especially if he felt he was the problem.

He needed to ask Tim what he had found out and hopefully get to the bottom of this mess today, but in the meantime he had not just the Director and the Secretary of the Navy, but also the President of the United States wanted to know what caused the death of Admiral Barclay and as much as he wanted to sort out this whole DiNozzo mess, he had to get this off his desk first. At least getting that finished would keep them busy and he could talk to Tim under the pretence of this investigation without Tony then becoming suspicious of _him_. Gibbs sighed at the thought of what lay ahead.

"Right, I need all of your reports, notes and findings typed up, filed and on my desk by lunch. No excuses!"

The team nodded and worked silently for the rest of the morning. The silence itself was disturbing because no matter how busy they may be, Tony would still manage to so something to lighten the tension, or Tim would compare notes or double check something with his colleagues, Ellie would bounce around from sitting at her desk, to sitting on the floor, to running to the snack machine, rarely still for more than an hour, and Gibbs would have to tell one, or all of them, to shut up and get the work done. But not today, today the silence was deafening. Even Vance noticed it from his perch above them. Vanced quirked an eyebrow at Gibbs, but Gibbs simply shrugged, hoping the Director would let him sort it out. Yep, the sooner he could sort out this mystery the better.

But first; Admiral Barclay and the report that will show the leader of the free world that one of his top ranking officials accidentally killed himself by drinking a quart of whisky, snorting a ton of cocaine and performing electrical repairs in his leopard print bra and panties.

After the reports had been handed in Gibbs decided to discuss their findings individually in the interview room. With a big case it wasn't unusual for Gibbs to discuss each members notes with them, but it wasn't usually done in the privacy of an interview room. Gibbs hoped this would allow Tim and Gibbs to speak without raisings Tony's suspicions any higher. It didn't work.

First Gibbs called Ellie in and went over her notes and reports and made sure that everything she had supplied matched that of the other members of the team. He knew this report would be gone over with a fine tooth comb and he was not about to have his arse raked over the coals because of a typo or a discrepancy in the field notes. Before she left though, she had to discuss the elephant in the big orange squad room.

"Do you know what the heck is going on with Tim and Tony?" she asked.

"No, what is it?" he asked not wanting to let on that he was aware of the tension.

"Oh come on, you had to have noticed. Tim has been weird and twitchy since he came back from holidays and every time Tony tried to say something to him he got all jumpy and fidgety. It's like he doesn't trust Tony all of a sudden. And now Tony is all pissy at Tim because he doesn't know why Tim is like this and so Tony has the sulks on and isn't talking to anyone. I don't know if you noticed but you could have heard a pin drop in there this morning."

Gibbs looked up at his youngest team member. He knew Ellie was very fond of both, especially Tony and he knew it wouldn't be long before she decided she needed to mediate herself. He just hoped he could get it sorted before she poked her nose in. "I'll deal with it. Just let it go for now and don't do or say anything to them until you speak to me OK."

She squinted her eyes at him, "You _do_ know what is going on don't you." She crossed her arms over he chest, "Fine, I'll not say anything to them but whatever it is needs to be sorted and soon. It is getting very uncomfortable out there."

Gibbs sighed, "I know. Send Tony in next."

Ellie nodded and left and a few moments later Tony strode in and took a seat opposite Gibbs. Their conversation was short and too the point and Tony's responses were clipped and terse. When they were finished Gibbs was actually hoping he could get away without having to discuss the issue but he was wrong.

"So, you aren't going to ask me what is wrong, which means that you _know_ what is wrong, which means you know that McGee has a bee up his arse about me, which means you know what that bee is." He stopped and waited for Gibbs to answer but Gibbs remained silent and stared at his SFA. "So are you going to share it or do I get to continue playing the game 'Guess what Tim's pissed at me about' because to be honest Gibbs … I'm not a fan. I prefer Jeopardy."

"I'll talk to him," Gibbs responded.

"You'll talk to him, right!" Tony spat out angrily and stood abruptly, ready to storm out of the room but before he opened the door he turned and Gibbs could see that the anger was only covering up genuine hurt that Tony was now allowing to just show, "Have I done something to him? Did I say something? I mean I went around last night and Delilah was acting the same way? I just… I don't understand what I could have said or done to upset them. Sure Tim I understand, I annoy him on a daily basis, but Delilah… I thought she and I were friends."

Gibbs sighed… again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. Tony was obviously genuinely confused which meant that either Tim was wrong and this must have been a big misunderstanding, Tony genuinely had no idea about not being a DiNozzo … or Tony was an incredibly good actor and more devious than he could have ever imagined. "I will talk to him, I promise and I will let you know what is going on. Just give me some time and maybe just back off from Tim until it is sorted. Can you do that?"

Tony shoulders slumped from his previous tense posture indicating that he wasn't willing to fight it anymore. He nodded and left the room.

A knock on the door bought his last agent, and hopefully some answers.


	5. Chapter 5

**NOTE: Again thanks for all the reviews and kind words.**

 **Chapter 5:**

Gibbs and McGee went through the case notes first before discussing Tony because the Director was desperate for the report. With that all finalised he made a quick call to the Directors assistant and she came down to collect the report. Now they could finally discuss the more intriguing mystery.

"So what have you got McGee," Gibbs asked, wanting to get some answers.

McGee opened his laptop and opened a folder with copies of various documents in it. "Well, first things first, he is definitely _not_ Tony DiNozzo. Delilah and I went through DMV records, voting registration records and even went onto but we cannot find any DiNozzo's in the US who are not part of Roberto's family."

"Here is a copy of Tony's birth certificate we have on file here and this," he tapped a few keys on the laptop keyboard and turned the screen to Gibbs, "is the one I just received today from New York State Vital Records Department. As you can see they are identical, all the way down to the signature of the doctor who delivered him."

Again he turned the computer around and tapped a few keys and showed Gibbs a copy of an old newspaper article, "This is the original news story in relation to the death of the family. It seemed to be a pretty big deal because the father, Anthony Senior, was a pretty wealthy real estate agent who sold top end houses up and down the Hamptons; here are a couple of stories on him from when he was still alive. Also, after his death they did an obituary which pretty much confirms what Roberto said that they were the only DiNozzo's in the US because of a bad tempered clerk who couldn't be bothered getting their name spelt right."

Gibbs sat and thought for a moment, his mind working over the information presented to him. "I think we are looking at this wrong McGee. Even if Tony isn't who he says he is, we know for a _fact_ that he has been Tony since he was at least 16. Ellie has been to Remington where he went to school. He made the Dean's list for Christ's sake. Tony would have been too young to have been behind this identity theft. Find out how long Tony has been Tony DiNozzo, start at Remington and work your way back through his school history and find out when he first showed up. If it happened when he was young enough, he may not even be aware of it."

"Wait … Tony made the Dean's List? Why didn't I…"

"Senior is who we need to be looking at McGee. I also need you to find out anything you can about him. It could be that Tony has no idea he isn't who he thinks he is. See how far you can trace Senior back. Find out what you can this afternoon because you and I will have to pay a visit to Tony tonight. We can't let this go on any longer and I want to know if we are accusing him or breaking the news to him."

"Um, how am I going to do that with Tony sitting in the next desk watching everything I do?"

"Can't you do it on this thing in here?" Gibbs asked.

"Well I guess I can configure the NCIS server to enable me to log on with even without the correct security encryptions, also I can wirelessly send any documents …" McGee looked up and saw Gibbs staring at him. "Yeah, I can work here boss."

"Good, I'll keep Tony busy in there; you work in here."

"Will do Boss."

"And McGee, check with US Marshals and make sure this isn't some sort of Witness Protection situation too."

"Ok, on it."

Gibbs returned to his desk only to discover DiNozzo nowhere to be seen. He looked at Bishop and with a flick of his head asked where DiNozzo was. "I think he said he was going to meet Zoe for a late lunch. He also muttered something about backing off and back off so much he won't bother coming back or something like that …" she left the rest hanging, indicating that she wasn't sure if Tony would be back or not.

Once again a sigh escaped Gibbs lips and he couldn't help but think _What the hell have you got yourself into Tony … or what ever the hell your name is."_

Gibbs was working at his desk late that afternoon and Tony had still not returned to the office, but apparently Zoe had texted Bishop to inform her that Tony was still with her and drowning his sorrows and that she was taking him home.

"Pstt…" Gibbs heard a sound and looked around.

"Pstt…" again the sound but this time he managed to find the source of the sound, one Tim McGee on his hands and knees on the floor next to the partition leading to the interview rooms.

"He's not here McGee," Gibbs informed him.

"Oh, Ok," McGee stood and dusted his knees off. Bishop looked over with a look on her face that said she was pretty sure Tim was going crazy. "Um, about that … additional background … on the … um…" Tim struggled to come up with an excuse on the fly without clueing Bishop in on the subterfuge. She may not know what exactly was happening, but she sure as hell would know _something_ was going on.

"Aw geez McGee," Gibbs said standing up and walking towards the interview room. "You could have just called me over without crawling around like a child."

"I didn't want Tony to see me. I didn't realise he wasn't here."

"Well Tony didn't see you but Bishop did. She was already suspicious and now you have just confirmed it."

"Sorry boss I just really wanted to show you what I have."

They reached the room and Gibbs strode in. "Well, what _have_ you got."

"Right, well, I found out from Remington that their records show that Tony was supposed to have transferred there from Long Island Boys School. He was bought in under their ' _troubled teen'_ program after he was expelled from Long Island. However, I called the Long Island school and they couldn't find any record of a DiNozzo going there. What's more, I spoke to the head mistress who has been with the school since she started teaching in 1977 and she said there had definitely been no DiNozzo at her school because she was Vincenzo DiNozzo's neighbour and she would have remembered. She apparently was setting her sights on being Mrs Vincenzo DiNozzo and she would have no problem getting her claws into him via a student relative… I paraphrase of course. She also sent over class photos of every class from 1980 to 1984, which is the time Tony may have attended, and he definitely isn't in any of the photos. It isn't a big school."

Gibbs nodded and looked over the school photos himself and had to agree, no Tony.

"Here's the big one. I checked into Tony's Dad and … he doesn't seem to exist outside of Washington DC. I checked out where he used to live in New York before he moved here and according to his New York State drivers licence he lived in Apartment 6J, Hudson View Towers on 86th street. I called the apartment manager and they not only had no record of Senior as a tenant, they said they don't have a unit 6J." Gibbs shook his head at the information he was being given.

"And it doesn't stop there, I also ran credit card information on senior, and there are no purchases or activity _at all_ except when he has been here in DC. That is going back _five_ years. And what's more, Tony pays all the bills."

"Then what the hell does he do when he isn't here?" Gibbs asked, starting to realise just how much of a con man Tony's father really was.

"Here's the kicker boss. I started to run a facial recognition program on drivers licences from around the US and I am only half way through and I already have four hits."

Tim tapped a few buttons and up came a Florida licence with a photo of Tony's Father on it, "Meet Samuel Frankston," he clicked again, "Jason Cambridge", again, "Peter Smith and finally, Leroy McGee… I think we are the inspiration for that last one."

Gibbs rubbed his hand over his chin, thinking about this information. The licences were from Florida, North Carolina, Maine and Pennsylvania but all showed the face of Tony's father. "What the hell is going on here?"

"And needless to say, there is no record of them being in Witness Protection."

"No kidding, Witness Protection gives them _one_ new identity, not five!"

Gibbs sat silently thinking about what to do next. Eventually the silence got the best of McGee, "Now what boss?"

"Now, we go and talk to Tony. There is no way he couldn't know about this, which makes him a felon."


	6. Chapter 6

**NOTES: I will be uploading a few chapters a day now as I am going OS next week and don't want to leave you all hanging.**

 **Chapter 6:**

Gibbs and McGee arrived at Tony's apartment around seven that evening. They knocked and Tony's girlfriend, Zoe, answered the door. She gave them a look that said she was unimpressed that they were here.

"Can we come in?" Gibbs asked the woman who had her arms crossed over chest. Gibbs didn't know Zoe overly well, but what experience he had with her he knew she would have no problem telling them to turn around and get lost if that is what she thought was best for Tony. However, tonight she just nodded and stood aside to allow them in.

"Well if it isn't my two bestest buddies?" Tony called sarcastically from the couch when he saw who it was. It was obvious he had been drinking but Tony rarely drank to excess so if he was showing signs of drunkenness, then he was obviously disturbed with what was happening. But the question is why? Is he upset that he doesn't know what is going on, or is he upset because he suspects they know his secret?

"Zoe, we need to talk to Tony privately, could you give us some time?"

Zoe looked over at Tony who nodded to her it was OK. She grabbed her bag and coat, "Fine, I'll go, but whatever the hell is going on here, sort it out!" She walked over and gave Tony a kiss on the head, "I'll go home but you call me if you want me to come back ok?" Again Tony nodded in the affirmative, "Gentlemen." She headed to the door and gave both Gibbs and McGee a look that spoke volumes of her protectiveness of Tony and left closing the door loudly behind her.

Tony certainly had a type when it came to women, strong and feisty and it would appear this one was no exception.

"So… what do you want to talk to me about?" Tony asked, taking another sip of his drink and not bothering to offer either of them a seat.

Gibbs looked around and as the couch was the only piece of furniture to sit on in the lounge room, he pulled the coffee table away and sat on that, facing Tony.

"Make yourself at home Gibbs," Tony said with a frown. He hated it when people moved his stuff.

"Tony, we have found out something and, quite frankly, we need some answers."

Tony looked from Gibbs to Tim and back again, his eyes narrowing as his mind tried to work out what they may have found out.

"OK, what is it?"

Gibbs looked at McGee and indicated he should start.

"Ok, well, while Delilah and I were away we came across a store in Long Island called DiNozzo's Finery and we went in, curious of course, and asked the owner if he knew you… He didn't."

Gibbs watched Tony as he processed this; the only clue that Tony was nervous was a slight twitch of one of his eyes. Tony of course, wasn't going to give up the game that quick, "What? That's it? You found a DiNozzo who didn't end up being a relative and that is some big mystery? You know, he's probably one of my distant cousins or something." Tony laughed and took another drink. Again Gibbs watched as Tony's eyes darted away to the left for a split second. Right was recall, left was lying.

"Well that's the thing Tony, when we spoke to Roberto, that was his name, Roberto DiNozzo, he said there are no other DiNozzo's and that … Anthony DiNozzo Senior and Junior died in a car crash in 1976. I checked out his story and he's right."

Tony sat, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he thought on what Tim just said, "So you go poking around behind my back, after some senile old Italian guy gets confused between his Anthony DiNozzo's and us. Did you consider coming and asking me about it? Hmm?"

Gibbs looked at him, "We're here now Tony."

Tony sat forward, placed his glass on the table and started to talk, "Look, apparently my grandfather, had a falling out with his family years ago. They all went their separate ways. Obviously this Roberto guy doesn't realise there is another lot of DiNozzo's running around the world. That's all. Look, I will call my dad and sort it all out. Hell maybe we will even go up and pay cousin Roberto a visit. Bet he would be surprised to know we are out there." He stood and walked over to pour himself another drink. Gibbs could tell from the way his shoulders were held he was nervous.

He looked at McGee and took over the rest of the conversation. "Stop lying to us Tony, there _are_ no other DiNozzo's, you didn't exist before 1984 and the birth certificate we have on file is that of a dead eight year old boy. Your father holds five licences in different names, and they are only the ones we have found so far." Gibbs stood and went to stand beside Tony who was now leaning against the bar with both fists on the top and his head slumped between his shoulders. "Tell us what is going on."

Tony remained in that position for a while before finally standing up and facing Gibbs. Gibbs could see the shimmer of tears in Tony's eyes, "Fine, I'll tell you what I know."

"Good," Gibbs placed his hand on Tony's shoulder and guided him back to his couch. "When you're ready."

"I don't know where to start," Tony said, his arm on the armrest and chewing nervously on his thumbnail.

"How about you start with you're real name?" McGee suggested.

Tony snorted, "If only it was that simple Tim. I actually have _no_ idea what my real name is."

Tim looked confused, "How is that possible?"

"Because I have lived under false names my whole life. Before being given Anthony DiNozzo, I didn't keep a name for more than two years. I've been Mark, Michael, Peter, Sabastian … I hated that one by the way … Sean, David … this list goes on."

"Why did you have to keep changing your name?" Tim asked.

"Let me guess; your father," Gibbs supplied.

Tony nodded. "Yep. He'd meet a woman, marry her or move in with her, we'd live with them for a year or so, then he'd come to me in the middle of the night … always the middle of the night… and say, ' _we have to go now son'_ and he would grab a bag of my clothes, we'd hop into the car and be off again. We would drive for a day or so, change cars and then I would have to learn my new name and our background."

"Where did the names come from?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't know, I assume the way everyone gets a false identity, find a dead person who meets your age needs and take their name and identity. I never saw him do it but he always had one ready to roll when we ran."

"Oh my god! How long did you have to live like that?" Tim asked, shocked that Tony had had such a child hood.

"That was my whole life. We did that for as far back as I can remember."

"Where was your mother?" Gibbs asked.

Tony shrugged, "I don't remember ever having a mother. Dad never spoke about her other than she died in a car crash, I never asked. You can't miss what you never had."

"Who's the woman in that photo?" Gibbs asked, pointing to Tony's piano where there were few photos in frames.

Tony shrugged, "Sue maybe … or Eliza. I don't know, one of my many stepmothers. You would have to ask Dad, I think he has a better memory for them than I do.

"Oh I will be asking your father more than that. What was he constantly running from?" Gibbs asked.

"I never knew. Knowing what I know now about my father; I assume he would fleece the woman he was with of all her money and take off. We always had heaps of cash with us." Tony smiled a sad smile. "I actually liked a few of them. I remember lying in bed as a kid and praying, ' _please god, can we stay with this one'._ But, we never did and eventually I just stopped praying … for anything."

Gibbs and McGee remained quiet, taking in what Tony had just told them. They couldn't comprehend what Tony's childhood must have been like. But Gibbs couldn't help but feel there was more to this story. He didn't know if Tony was holding back, or he honestly didn't know what his father was up to.

"So what changed?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked confused.

"Why did you stop running? Why did you become Tony DiNozzo and stay him?"

Tony shrugged and looked away, "I don't know, I guess dad felt guilty about making me live that way and left me to live my own life."

The three men remained silent until Tony finally asked, "So what are you going to do about it?"

Gibbs shook his head, "I honestly don't know."

"You know, if this comes out, I will probably lose my job."

Gibbs nodded, "No probably about it DiNozzo, you are living under a false identity. You may have had it since being a minor, but you have continued to do it as an adult. I need to think about it. Is there _anything_ else you can tell me?"

Tony shook his head, "Nope." Tony's leg jumped up and down quickly, a sure sign he was agitated. _Not surpising,_ Gibbs thought to himself, _I'd be agitated too if I just revealed a life like that._ "Ok, we are going to go, but I want to talk to your father."

Tony stood with them, "I'll call him, but to be honest, I don't think he is going to be very receptive to telling you his deep dark secrets."

"Well you tell him he either comes to me … or I _will_ track him down. I don't care how many alias' he has."

"I'll try." Tony walked the men to the door.

"We'll work this out Tony, OK." Gibbs promised before he and McGee walked away.

If only Tony could believe him. He shut the door and walked to his window and looked down at the street. He rested his head against the pane of glass, allowing the coolness outside to seep into his skin. He watched as Gibbs and McGee got into the car and drove down the street.

And then; he got ready to run for his life.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

As soon as the car turned the corner, Tony flew from the window into his bedroom, where he grabbed a black bag out of the back of his cupboard. He threw clothes in, nothing with logos or bright colours (goodbye Ohio State shirt), nothing that would stand out in a crowd.

He then moved to the other side of his closet and reached as far back as he could, with a few grunts and sharp tug, a panel at the back became dislodged and he removed from it a burner phone with only one number in it, twenty thousand dollars in cash and a licence and passport with his new identity. He looked at them now, ' _Hello Jason Miller_ ' he thought to himself.

He then went to his bathroom and removed the top of the toilet cistern and removed a plastic bag taped to the inside and removed an unregistered and untraceable gun. He prayed he would never need to use it but being in law enforcement for so long, the idea of not actually having a gun with him was inconceivable. He threw the money and new identities into his bag and put the phone in his pocket and the gun into the back of his belt. He would call his dad as soon as he was on the road and let him know he was done. He looked around at his apartment, he would take nothing of Tony DiNozzo with him; that was the rule when you changed - nothing from your old life could come into your new one, nothing and no one. He stopped and looked at the framed photo he had of his girlfriend Zoe on the top of the piano. That was going to hurt, he had come so close to being able to settle down and live a normal life. Honestly after thirty years he had fooled himself into believing he was free, that his past could never be discovered after so much time. He was wrong. He placed the photo back on the piano and walked to the door. Goodbye Tony DiNozzo.

He flung the door open.

"Going somewhere DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. He and McGee were both standing outside his door, obviously waiting for Tony to do exactly this.

The jig was up; Tony knew it. There was no way Gibbs was going to let him out of his sight now, not without knowing everything. Goodbye Tony DiNozzo, hello Hazelton State Penitentiary. He threw his bag down on the floor in frustration and walked back into his lounge room. "I thought you left."

"We did, and then we did the block and came back," McGee advised.

"Why?"

"Gibbs' gut."

Tony snorted, "Of course, so, what did your famous gut tell you today?"

Gibbs had made his way into the lounge room behind Tony, pulling Tony's gun from his back ad grabbing the gym bag. He placed it on the table started going through it, "Just that there was more; something you weren't tell me. How about you tell me the rest right now, _Jason Miller_." He held up the new licence and showed it to McGee before putting it in his pocket. He then handed the gun to McGee who unloaded it and placed it in his pant belt for safekeeping. He noted the cash and the clothes. He then came over and patted Tony down, finding the burner cell in his pocket. "Take a seat Tony."

Tony stood where he was, arms crossed over his chest and jaw clenching and unclenching.

" _SIT_!" Gibbs yelled.

Gibbs watched at the fight went out of Tony. He made his way over the couch and slumped into it.

"McGee, go and make a pot of tea will you."

"Boss, are you sure you want me to leave you alone? I mean…"

"McGee, it's Tony, he's not going to do anything, now go and make the damn tea."

"Ok…" McGee left to go to the kitchen but turned back around, "Do you mean tea or do you want coffee because you don't drink tea."

"It's for Tony, not me."

"Oh, OK." McGee went back into the kitchen.

"McGee!" Gibbs yelled.

McGee flew back into the room, hand on his gun, "What?"

"Actually, I will have a coffee."

McGee sighed in annoyance and walked back inside.

Gibbs turned back to Tony and took a seat again on the coffee table. He placed his elbows on his knees and leaned in to Tony, not in an imposing way, but in a supportive way. "Why did you want to run Tony?" he asked the younger man quietly.

Tony just shook his head and remained silent.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me."

"You can't help me," Tony spat.

"Try me."

Tony once again shook his head and remained silent.

"Tony, I have known you for 14 years. You are a good man. You have successfully lived as Tony DiNozzo for over thirty years, so whatever this thing is that seems so big now, happened when you were a kid. Between that and the fact you have been an upstanding citizen, a decorated law enforcement officer who has a presidential award thanks to your fight against terrorism. Is what you did so bad that all of that would count for nothing?"

Tony remained silent, but Gibbs could tell he was mulling over what was said. Gibbs couldn't help but wonder what he was running from. He had assumed that Senior was the issue, but maybe it wasn't. Maybe Senior had been protecting Tony.

"Don't you want to get it off your chest?" Gibbs asked. He didn't often play good cop, and to be honest he wasn't playing. Tony was like a son to him, and if he could do anything to help him he would. "Talk to me."

Tony finally nodded, his jaw clenched, a sign he was fighting to ensure the slight shimmer in his eyes didn't become full blown tears, "Ok, but promise you won't hate me."

"Never. What did you do?"

"I murdered someone."

 _Damn!_ Gibbs thought, it was bad as he had feared.

McGee had come in and overhead Tony and was frozen in his steps, stunned at what Tony had just confessed to, "What do you mean you _murdered_ someone! _Who!"_ McGee demanded.

Tony hung his head in shame.

"McGee, just calm down and take a seat before you spill my damn coffee."

McGee placed the coffees and tea on the table but didn't know if he should sit next to this man who until two days ago had been like a brother to him. He now realised he didn't know this man at all. He took a seat on the couch, but at almost the opposite end, keeping a physical distance between them that matched the emotional distance he now felt.

Gibbs took a sip of his coffee and winced. Damn Tony and his smooth blend. This conversation called for hair sprouting, bitter, hot coffee. He put the cup down and put his hand on Tony's knee. Tony had remained with his head in his hands, trying to control tears that threatened to spill. _'DiNozzo's don't cry.'_

"Ok, from the beginning."

Tony lifted his head and quickly wiped his eyes.

"Well like I was telling you, Dad would wake me in the middle of the night and tell me we had to go. So this night we were up and packing the car and I had just run inside to grab my bag when this guy came up to dad in the garage. I walked out and heard him saying that he knew what my dad had done to Wanda and he wasn't going to get away with it. He said he had called the cops and they were on their way. I panicked… I mean Dad was the only person I had in my entire life and I was scared I was going to lose him; that I would go to foster care or juvie or something. Anyway, this guy didn't see me so I came up behind him, grabbed a hammer off the bench and hit him. He dropped to the ground dead."

"Who was he?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm not sure, it was dark and he had his back to me. After I … hit him I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I asked my father who it was but he said I didn't need to know."

Gibbs nodded, "Ok, go on."

Tony took a breath, tried to calm himself before continuing, "So dad gave me this look … it was the worst look I have ever seen, it was like he couldn't believe I had done it … like he was disgusted with me. Anyway, he told me to grab his legs and together we put him in the trunk, hoped in the car and took off.

"We drove all through the night and just before dawn we drove into a forest near some marsh. We grabbed him out, and dad dragged him into the bush and got rid of him. I don't think we spoke to each other that entire drive other than him asking if I needed to stop for food or toilet. Anyway, we hopped back in the car and drove again and dad found an old flooded quarry. We got our stuff out of the car and he rolled it into the water. We waited to make sure it sunk and then walked back to the nearest town."

"My god!" Tim said, stunned at what Tony had just confessed to.

Tony looked at Gibbs, hoping to not see the same revulsion in his eyes that he had seen that night in his fathers, "I'm fucked aren't I?"

Gibbs remained silent, thinking about what he had just heard, trying to put his protective father like feelings for this man aside, and look at it like an investigator.

"OK, so you were sixteen when this happened?"

Tony shrugged, "I'm not sure. I mean if Tony DiNozzo did it, he was sixteen at the time, but I don't know how old I actually am. I could have been older … an adult maybe."

"Or you could have just as easily been younger," Gibbs said. Tony nodded in agreement.

"How did you end up at Remington?"

"About a week or so after … well just after, Dad informed me that my name was now Anthony DiNozzo and that he said he had arranged for me to be sent to a military academy. I assumed it was because he didn't want to turn me in to the police but figured I was beyond his help if I killed someone. Anyway, he dropped me off, told me a quick backstory and said I had to make up the rest. ' _Remember the Devil is in the details. Know your backstory and make sure you never slip from it … not even once'."_ Tony said in his best Senior impression. "He then said that he was sorry he put me through this and that I would never see him again, it was for the best for both of us. And I didn't … until he turned up in the squad room six years ago."

"That was the first time you had seen him?" Gibbs asked stunned.

Tony nodded.

"Why did he come back?"

Tony shrugged, "He said he had missed me and wanted to know what I had done with my life … then asked me for money. Not surprising considering the life he lived."

"He must have been surprised to learn you have gone into law enforcement," McGee said.

Tony snorted, "At first he was disgusted, until he thought that I might be able to help him out with some stuff."

Gibbs quirked an eyebrow, "Did you?"

Tony held his hands up and shook his head adamantly, "Absolutely _not!_ He tried to hint at needing some help and I shut him down. Told him I had turned my life around and I wasn't about to jeopardise my career over a man who dumped me on the side of the road and disappeared for the next twenty odd years. He finished off his scam, and then talked me into paying his bill. I'm still paying off his credit cards to this day. He blows back into town every now and then, but other than that I don't have any contact with him."

Gibbs was sure Tony was being truthful, after all the information he volunteered matched what they had discovered in their exploration of Senior. However he wasn't about to let Tony out of his sights.

"OK, we need to look into this and see if there are any crime reports on this. Do you know if his body was ever discovered."

Tony shook his head indicating that he didn't know. "I never checked. I didn't want to know."

"And you didn't know his name?"

"Nope."

"Do you know where you were at the time?"

"Yeah we were in Tampa Florida."

"Do you remember the address where you lived?"

"Yep, I think so."

Gibbs got up and looked around before heading to the sideboard and grabbing some paper and a pen.

"I want to you write as much information about where you were, any names, dates, any information that could help us find out what the hell happened."

"Ok. But if we look into this and find out there is an open murder investigation, then what?"

"I honestly don't know."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes: As advised earlier I will be updating the chapters a few times a day as I am going away from Tuesday. I am so grateful to everyone who has liked, favourited and followed this story and love reading all the comments so please leave more :)**

 **Chapter 8:**

Gibbs, McGee and Tony returned to NCIS headquarters at close to 10pm. The floor was not surprisingly clear, which was exactly how Gibbs wanted it.

"McGee, get this information and see if you can find anything about this guy. New articles, search Florida and FBI for open cases matching this description … anything."

"On it Boss."

"What do you want me to do?" Tony asked.

"Sit there, do nothing, _touch_ nothing and try and remember anything else that might help."

Tony slumped into his chair behind his desk, placed his head on his hand and said, "Ok, but I don't think I can think of anything else."

"Then just sit there."

Tony was annoyed at being treated as a wayward child… but then again he had tried to flee his life and change his identity not three hours ago. He was not surprised Gibbs was being so strict.

"What are you going to do boss?" McGee asked, hoping it didn't involve hovering over his shoulder until he found something.

"I'm going to help you," Gibbs went over and started to (slowly) type on his keyboard. "I'm not completely computer illiterate."

"You're not?... I mean, of course you're not."

Gibbs looked over at the younger man and quirked an eyebrow. "I do know how to look up missing persons you know."

"But how do we know they are still missing?"

Gibbs sighed, "We don't McGee, we have to cover all our bases. Now enough with the chit chat and find me something on this guy."

They worked quietly for a couple of hours, with Tony occasionally standing and pacing back wards and forwards like a caged animal.

"I need to go to the toilet," he said about two hours in.

"Fine, McGee, go with him."

Tony spluttered, about to protest, "Not negotiable DiNozzo." Gibbs looked up at him and gave Tony a look that said 'don't argue with me or I will lock you up'.

"Fine, come on McGee."

McGee looked just as unhappy about the prospect, "Please tell me you only need to pee."

"Well I did, but now I think I might go number twos just to annoy you."

"Hey, this wasn't my idea you know…"

It was about half an hour after the field trip to the bathroom that McGee came across some information that appeared to be related. "I think I found something."

Both Gibbs and Tony shot up to find out what he had. Gibbs looked at Tony and pointed to his seat, "Sit!" He waited for Tony to sit before going behind Tim's desk to see what he had.

"It is an open case with the FBI. The body of Donald Hampson was found in a marsh in Okefenokee National Park in September 1984. His body was weighted down with a large rock but the gases in his body caused it to float up anyway and was discovered by one of the rangers of the park." McGee skimmed a bit further, "he was identified through dental records after narrowing down missing persons," again he skimmed. "Huh?"

"What McGee," Tony called from his desk.

"You shush," Gibbs said. "What is it McGee"

"Autopsy showed he was killed by multiple blunt force trauma to the back of the skull, most likely caused by the rock he was weighed down with based on the shape of the rock compared with the shape of the dints on the skull."

Tony shot up, "What about the hammer I hit him with?"

McGee read further, "They mention a fracture on the right side of his head, likely caused by a hammer or similar round faced object, but they say that while he was likely rendered unconscious from the blow, it was unlikely that would have killed him."

Tony put his hands on his head, shocked, amazed, confused by what he just heard, "I didn't kill him! Oh my god all this time I though I had killed him and I didn't," he jumped up and down, the relief causing endorphins to flow through his body. But then the reality hit him and the high was quickly replaced by a crushing low, "but that means … Dad killed him."

Gibbs nodded.

"Wait there is more, this murder is linked to another murder, that of the man's sister, Wanda Thomason, nee Hampson. Tony, didn't you say your step mother was Wanda?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah Wanda, we were the Thomason's at the time. I was Sean Thomason and Dad was … god what was his name? Steven I think."

McGee nodded, "Yep, husband of the deceased, Steven Thomason, is wanted in relation to both murders."

"Wait, Wanda was murdered? When? How?"

McGee clicked on another file and scanned the page with his eyes, "Wanda Thomason was found bound and gagged in her bedroom… death appears to be manual strangulation." He looked again … "they found her bank accounts were cleaned out and the only suspect is her husband, Steven Thomason."

Tony shook his head in disbelief, "No… that's not right. I mean a con man yes, but a _murderer_? No way my dad did that?" Tony slumped into his chair "Did he?"

Gibbs came over and leant on Tony's desk.

"Can you remember any of the other names of these women, or your father's alias'?"

Tony frowned, confused, "Why?" Suddenly it dawned on him. "You think he killed others don't you."

"It's a possibility, Tony."

"Oh my god! All this time I though I was protecting a scammer, I never even imagined he could be a killer."

"A possible serial killer at that," McGee said from his desk and received a stare of death from Gibbs and a look of absolute horror from Tony. "Sorry." He turned back to his screen and continued reading.

Gibbs placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder, "Write down as many names as you can remember, places, dates, anything that might help us find out if there are more victims."

"Tony nodded and started to jot down names."

McGee walked over and whispered to Gibbs, "Boss, if we find evidence of this, then what?"

McGee might have tried to be quiet, but Tony's hearing was better than expected.

"Then we arrest my father and lock him away for the rest of his life McGee."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

By the time the other employees started to filter in, Tony had supplied McGee with as many names and places that he could remember and McGee had found another two open murder cases; one with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, their State Police Department, and the other with Maine State Police. Both women were killed the same way, bound and gagged, manual strangulation and bank accounts cleared of all savings. Their husbands were wanted in relation to both murders, Edward Sullivan and Brian Harmon. Both files held photographs of the men in question and there was no doubt both Tony's father. In one he had long flowing blonde hair and the second was a marine cut, died red and with thick dark rimmed glasses and moustache.

Both had become Cold Cases when the trail went cold on these men. Because the occurred back in the seventies and eighties, there was no easy way to match MO's across various police departments. Basically, if it didn't occur in their state there was little they could do to compare cases except by picking up the phone and calling random police departments around the country.

These two cases had been picked up because the cold cases had been updated onto their state directories. While there was a push on the federal level to get as many cold cases and unsolved cases up into a national database, unfortunately the lack of manpower of many of the individual police departments in each state, and across the US, meant that it was truly a hit and miss affair. And of course the priorities were the most recent cases and the most grievous of murders. McGee actually thought it was a miracle they found two just through local search.

When McGee filled Gibbs and Tony in on what he found, Gibbs decided they needed to take this to the next level. "McGee, as soon as Bishop turns up, grab her and Abby and go down to Autopsy. We will meet you down there soon. And not a word to them until I get there."

"What are you going to do?" McGee asked.

"I've been up all night McGee, I need a coffee," he walked away shouting over his shoulder, "You're with me DiNozzo."

They rode down in the elevator silently, Gibbs allowing Tony time with his inner thoughts that must be in absolute turmoil. They walked out of the building and to the coffee cart where Gibbs ordered them both a coffee, even getting Tony the sweet flavoured coffee he seemed so fond of. He then guided them both over to a bench and took a seat. Tony paced back and forwards in front of him until he had enough, "Sit down Tony, you are making me dizzy."

They sipped quietly for a while before Gibbs finally opened the dialogue, "You OK?"

Tony laughed a sarcastic laugh, "Well let me think about that … um _NO!_ "

"And you honestly had no idea of what your father was doing," Gibbs wanted to believe Tony but he had to hear Tony say the words.

"Gibbs I _swear_ I had no idea. I thought that yeah he was a conman and ripped of women but _kill them!_ " He shook his head, still stocked at what he had discovered. "I have spent the last twenty years trying to make amends for what I did … what I _thought_ I did. And I know it could never make up for what happened, but I swore I would _never_ allow anyone to get away with that sort of thing if I was in a position to do something about it. So if you think for a second, I knew about my father was doing and that I would allow that _monster_ to walk around without doing something about it … then you don't know me at all." Tony's voice hitched towards the end of his speech, the emotion still raw and close to the surface.

Gibbs placed his hand on Tony's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "I believe you Tony."

Tony nodded thanking Gibbs for his trust. He wiped away his tears, "Now what?"

"You said it before, we need to catch him and make sure he gets locked away, but to do that we need proof, and to get proof, we need help."

Tony felt a dread fall over him, "What sort of help?"

"I have one of the best federal investigative teams, do you really think I won't use them to find a serial killer that has been operating for … hell who knows how long he has been doing this."

"So everyone is going to know," Tony said.

"Can't see that we have a choice in that; Do you?"

Tony admitted that he didn't see any alternative. At least using the team he knew and who knew him, he would spend the time in the relative comfort of NCIS headquarters under the never waiving supervision of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The alternative was to hand it over to the FBI and spend the rest of his time in a federal prison awaiting trial for identity theft. Hell, they would probably charge him for accessory to murder not to mention withholding evidence of a murder, aiding and abetting a felon … the list went on.

"They're going to hate me."

"They will be surprised, maybe angry, but I don't think they will hate you. I don't, McGee doesn't."

"I hope you're right."

"How about we go and find out."

They arrived down at autopsy to find the team harassing McGee for information on why they are there.

"I can't tell you anything, Gibbs told me to wait."

"Give us a clue Tim," Abby begged.

"Yeah, does it have something to do with why you have been so funny towards Tony the last couple of days?" Ellie asked.

"Why have you been funny to Tony, McGee?" Abby asked punching Tim in the arm. "What has Tony done to you?"

"How about we do as Jethro asked and wait for him to tell us," suggested Dr Mallard from his desk.

"That sounds like good advice to me Ducky," Gibbs said as he breezed into autopsy with Tony trailing behind, shoulders slumped and hands in his pockets.

"Aww, someone needs a hug," Abby went up to Tony and threw her arms around him. He hugged her back, realising that shortly she may never want to show him any form of affection again.

"McGee, show them the files."

"Right." McGee laid the three manila folders that he had been clutching closely to his chest, hiding their contents from the others.

"What do we have here Jethro?" Ducky asked.

"What we have here, Duck, are three files of three women who have all been killed the same way, by the same man."

"Bishop picked up one of the files and started to flick through the papers McGee had printed off from the searches he performed, "Oh, hunting a serial killer … Excellent!" She couldn't hide her excitement as she hopped up on one of the autopsy tables and started to really study the file.

"I assume one of the victims is Navy personnel," Ducky said as he also picked up one of the files.

"Not exactly Duck, which is why we need to do this quickly and quietly."

Abby asked, "Then why are we looking into them if it's isn't an NCIS case? I don't know about you guys by my workload is already unbelievable." She pulled the last file to her and opened it.

"I have a very good reason," Gibbs said, about to explain the reason as best he could.

"Hey, this guy looks familiar," Ellie said, turning the photo of the long blonde haired senior DiNozzo for all to see.

"Oh my God," Abby said grabbing the photo from Bishop, "this guy could be your dad, Tony. A bit younger and with some wicked highlights."

Abby laughed but when she looked at Tony and saw the expression on his face the laughter stopped.

"Oh my," Ducky said, having come across the photos of the red headed, close cut moustachioed version of Tony's father. He looked up also noting the look of misery on Tony's face. "It _is_ your father, isn't it Anthony."

Tony could only nod, unable to speak.

Palmer was the first to beak the shocked silence.

"Wait, I don't understand… how could your dad be a serial killer? I mean; we know him! Surely a serial killer wouldn't want to hang out with a bunch of federal investigators! This is some mistake, surely. I mean… come on!"

"I wish it was Palmer," Gibbs said.

"I suggest you tell us exactly what is going on Jethro, "Ducky suggested.

And so with some help from McGee, in a talk that had more words in it than anyone had ever heard Leroy Jethro Gibbs speak, he explained; starting with McGee's weekend discovery that Tony was living under a false name, through to Tony's mistaken belief that he had killed someone as a teen, to the discovery that senior was not a conman as Tony had always believed, but to the inevitable discovery that he was in fact a serial killer who used multiple identities to remain one step ahead of the law.

Tony had receded to the edge of the room, distancing himself from the others. However, he couldn't distance himself from the looks of shock, horror and disbelief they all shot him at one stage or another throughout the telling. Each look was like a stab to the heart, not only because of how they felt towards him, but because of the guilt he carried for the pain and deceit he had unwillingly but inevitably dealt out to them all.

It was some time before anyone was ready to talk, too busy digesting the enormity of what they had just been told, not only that someone they knew was accused of such heinous crimes, but worse, that their friend … no their _brother_ had lied to them about who he was.

Abby turned to Tony, her arms crossed across her chest, "So if your name isn't Tony, what is it?" She was angry and understandably so.

"Abby, there is more to Tony's story than we told you," McGee said, trying to intervene before Abby's hurt feelings and anger caused her to lash out at Tony, who as far as McGee was concerned was an innocent in this … to a point.

"No, I want to hear it from him," she said pointing in Tony's direction, "I want this … person … to tell me his name, and it had better be the truth because I am angry now, but if I find out you lied to me again I will _never_ forgive you!"

So Tony answered her honestly, "I don't know what my name is."

"How can you not know what your name is. You were what sixteen when you changed your name, are you trying to tell me you can't remember what your name was before that, is everything you have ever said a _lie_!" she spat out angrily.

"Yes, I remember," Tony said, his voice now echoing Abby's anger, "It was Sean, and before that, I was Mark, before that I was Jason, and before that I was David … or was it Daniel … you see it all starts to get a bit confusing around her because, I was only 9 or 10, hell maybe I was younger … or older … I wouldn't know, because I have no idea how old I am. So what was I up to Oh, yeah Daniel … or David, well I know I was Sebastian when I was about seven because I remember fighting with dad in the car when he told me my new name. You see I didn't like Sebastian … can't blame me really … that name sucks. I liked Michael which I was before that … or even Steven before that … I kind of forget before then, four year olds aren't renown for their ability to remember things." Tony stopped then, his voice catching and his eyes stinging with tears he refused to allow flow.

The look of pity on the faces of his friend just made the fight to stop the tears all that much harder. He turned his back and walked away, as far as he could from his friends to try and compose himself. _'DiNozzo's don't cry'_ he thought to himself before realising the irony of that mantra he had spoken for nearly thirty years. He had come up with that the day his father had dropped him off at Remmington Academy. He _wasn't_ a DiNozzo … he _could_ cry. He was just worried that if he started he may never stop. The last 24 hours had been so overwhelming he was worried if he allowed a crack to appear it may just bring his whole fragile psyche crashing down around him.

He stood for a moment before feeling a gentle touch on his back. It was Abby. "I'm so sorry Tony, I had no idea."

He nodded, still unable to speak.

"I need to know one thing though and it has to be the truth," green eyes met green eyes, "did you know what your father was? Even a suspicion?"

He shook his head, "I didn't, I swear it," this time he couldn't stop the tears and his voice cracked with emotion.

Abby took the crying man into her arms and held him as he cried, soothing him as best she could.

"I believe you and we will get him and lock him away, not just for those women he killed, but for the little boy he destroyed as well. And Tony?" He looked at her through blurry teary eyes, "I like the name Sebastian."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

Within 24 hours of their request to the relevant police departments, all of the case files and evident arrived at NCIS. Now it was time to get down to serious business.

McGee and Bishop took the files, interviews and other paperwork related items up to the squad room and started working on a case each. Ducky and Palmer grabbed the autopsy reports and returned to autopsy to study them and Abby started to go through the physical evidence to see if there was still any trace or DNA after all this time. With the advances in these areas, previously disregarded evidence could be swabbed for DNA, particulates could be run through the mass spectrometer, and fingerprints lifted and run through the national database.

"What do you want me to do boss?" Tony asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"You do not look, touch or even _breath_ on this evidence," Gibbs said. "We can't risk any slimy defence attorney saying you planted evidence, or worse, the DA saying you removed it if we can't make the link." Tony just nodded. He knew it was the right thing, but he didn't know what he was going to do now.

"Um, there is one thing you can do?" Abby said as she approached the men.

"Yeah, what's that." Tony asked hopeful.

"Open you mouth so I can take a swab. If I can get a familial match on any DNA then we can make the case."

Not exactly what Tony was hoping for, but he nodded and opened his mouth while Abby took a swab with the long cotton bud before closing the lid on it.

"Is there anything to test that against Abby?" Gibbs asked.

"Um, yeah, there are a couple of things that I might be able to get something off but after all this time there is no guarantee. I was also going to run Tony's profile against all the standard databases to see if we get a familial hit, and I was going to run his prints to see if they ever got his prints from a crime scene."

"OK, let us know how you go."

Abby saluted before turning on her heels, "Yes Captain, My Captain."

"So I just sit and wait?" Tony asked.

"Yep. As far as I am concerned you are our prime witness, and from this moment, you are under witness protection … by me."

"Great … looking forward to it." Tony said with very little enthusiasm.

The team worked diligently and it wasn't long before Abby had some evidence.

"Ok, so like I said, I ran Tony's DNA through to see if we could get any sort of familial hit and not only did it match evidence from the murder of Wanda Thomason … well Hampson I guess because Thomason wasn't a real name so she was never really Wanda Thomason …"

"Abby!" Gibbs interrupted her.

"Right, so apart from that file, there were two other hits as well, one was from the suspect in the murder of Susan Mendleson and another from the case of Julie Brooks."

"So another two cases … this just get better and better," Tony lamented.

"Gibbs, there is more. But I think maybe I should speak to you about it first," Abby said shooting looks Tony's way.

"Wait, you aren't kicking me out …" Tony protested.

"Just give us a minute Tony, go wait in there," Gibbs said indicating Tony should head into the soundproof ballistics lab. Tony wanted to protest but knew by the look on Gibbs face it was pointless. He stormed in, shut the door behind him but stood at the glass door, arms crossed, with a look on his face showing he was unimpressed.

"What is it Abby?" Gibbs asked.

Abby turned her back on Tony so he couldn't accidently see what she was about to tell Gibbs. "That familial match I got on Julie Brooks, it wasn't on the suspect; it was on her." Abby handed Gibbs a copy of the print out. "Julie Brooks is Tony's mother."

Gibbs crooked his finger to indicate Tony could exit his glass prison cell.

"Take a seat Tony," Gibbs said, indicating one of Abby's stools. The look on her face was one of unbridled excitement, but laced with tentative fear. This wasn't going to be good. What have they found out about Senior now, not that he should really refer to him as that he supposed, it was more habit from his imagined life as Tony DiNozzo?

Gibbs handed Tony a photo of a young woman, looking to be about the late 60's or early 70's based on the dated clothing she wore. She had brown hair, eyes that looked like they sparkled, and a smile that instantly made you like her.

"Does this woman look familiar at all?" Gibbs asked him.

He looked at the photo again, there was something vaguely familiar about her but he couldn't actually remember ever having met her.

He shook his head, "No, what did my father do to her?"

"Killed her" Gibbs said matter-of-factly. "Tony, Abby got a hit off of your DNA with her. It would appear that this woman is your mother."

Tony eyes widened at the news, again he looked at the photo of the woman, willing for some sort of recognition. There should be shouldn't there? It was his mother, surely some part of him would recognise her … it had too. But the longer he looked at the photo the more he came to realise that he didn't recognise her, and he never would.

"You have her smile," Abby said coming up behind him and hugging his back, her chin resting on his shoulder.

"Who is she?" Tony asked, a slight hitch in his voice indicating his emotional turmoil.

"Julie Brooks. She was 26 when she died."

"My father?"

"It looks like it, same MO as the others," Gibbs told him.

"Wow, he couldn't even let the mother of his child live." Tony looked up from the photo and into Gibbs eyes, "Promise me we will put him away forever."

Gibbs nodded, "That's the plan."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

"I'm coming with you Gibbs," Tony said, following the elder man around the office as he prepared himself for the trip to Illinois to interview Julie Brooks' family.

"Absolutely not DiNozzo," Gibbs said, brushing past Tony on his way to drop some paperwork on Bishop's desk. "Bishop you are on Tony sitting duty, McGee you are with me."

Tony followed him back to his desk again; looking like the lost little boy they now knew him to be "These people are the only link to find out who I am!"

"I understand that Tony, and I will find out everything I can about you, but you can't come."

"Why not? It's not like I don't know how to interview people; you forget I have been an Agent for 14 years and a cop before that. What are you afraid I will do? Run up and hug them say I'm your grandson?"

"You are too close to this Tony, and what if your involvement makes this harder to prosecute?"

"Then we get him on one of the others … we have quite the selection to chose from in case you hadn't noticed." Tony could tell from the look on Gibbs face that arguing the experienced cop wasn't going to cut it and neither was the sarcasm. He changed tack, "Gibbs, I need to know who I am, these are the only people who can tell me that." He could see mulling it over in his head. "I don't even know my name." Finally the older man agreed.

"You don't say a word, your don't talk to them, you don't touch anything, and above all else, you DO NOT tell them who you are. Is that clear?"

"Crystal boss."

"Gear up."

Tony quickly ran behind his desk and grabbed his bag.

"McGee, Bishop, keep digging into the other cases."

As the plane started it's decent into Chicago, Tony started to question if coming here was a good idea. What if he found out something about himself he didn't want to know, or something about his father that could make him hate him more (was that even possible?). What if these people recognised him as their grandson. Unlikely considering he was only a toddler when he was taken and it was some 40 years since his abduction… is it abduction when you are taken by your own father? Hold on, what if Senior _wasn't_ his father? He knew that was unlikely. He knew he and his father looked too much alike and shared too many quirks and traits to not be related by DNA. At least he hadn't inherited his need to strangle women and steal their money. But he did inherit those weird long knobbly toes they both had. Tony started to giggle at the absurdity of his train of thoughts. Gibbs gave him a look that showed his concern for Tony's state of mind.

"You OK there Tony?"

"Yep, just thinking about my toes."

He could tell from the quirk of Gibbs eyebrow that he hadn't abated his fears but he didn't press him further as Tony's weird giggles had subsided and been replaced with deep breaths and closed eyes so he didn't press him further.

Gibbs was worried for Tony. The last days (had it only been four days since McGee came back from holidays?) had sent Tony on an emotional rollercoaster like no other he had experienced in his life. Although, thinking you had murdered someone and gone on the lam at 16 would have been on heck of a ride he guessed.

He left Tony to his thoughts for the rest of the flight.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

They pulled the hire car into the driveway of a lowset, small, cream-coloured house with a well-manicured lawn and flowers in beds placed neatly around the house and fence.

"Are you ready for this?" Gibbs asked him after turning off the car. "You can stay in the car if you want. I am happy to do this alone if you have changed your mind."

Tony shook his head, "No, I'm ready. And I know, no talking, no touching and no mental breakdowns," he smiled weakly at Gibbs, "I'm good."

"Ok, lets go."

They both exited the vehicle and made their way up to the front door. It was answered before they even had the chance to ring the bell.

An elderly woman in her 80s or 90s, still very healthy looking, answered the door, "Are you the Agents coming to talk about our Julie?" she asked. You could tell from the glint of hope in her eyes that she had never gotten over the death of her child and had been waiting 40 some years to have answers and maybe justice.

"Yes ma'am we are. I'm Special Agent Gibbs and this is Special Agent DiNozzo with NCIS. Are you Doreen Sullivan?" Both agents flashed their credentials but the woman hardly looked at them.

"Have you found him? Have you found who murdered my little girl?" She clutched her necklace in her left hand, a locket that no doubt held a photo of her beloved daughter.

"Let them in mum," a man in his 60's came up behind her and gently moved her out of the agents way, "Please, gentlemen, come in."

Gibbs and Tony entered the dated but neatly and tastefully decorated home. Tony noticed photos on the walls shelves and mantle but was not quite ready to look any further. He watched the woman who was his grandmother, looking for any little nuances that he could link to himself. Introductions were made, "Hi I'm George and this is my brother Harry and you have met my mother Doreen." Gibbs took a seat on the couch next to Harry who also looked to be in his late 60's and Tony stood back against a wall, not wanting to draw attention but able to listen to the conversation. Doreen and George took the two armchairs opposite the couch.

"You have some news on our sister's murder?" asked Harry. With a start Tony realised he was looking at his uncles. He was prepared for his grandmother, but for some reason the two uncles had thrown him. Did he used to call them Uncle George and Uncle Harry? Or were they those cool uncles who insisted on calling them by their names and not the moniker Uncle. Did he used to play peek-a-boo with them?

"Well we came across your sister's case when we were running some background checks on a case we are working on. We think we may have a suspect."

The woman closed her eyes, "Thank you Jesus," she said quietly. Gibbs had a feeling she had had many conversations with Jesus in these past years.

"Can you tell us anything about Julie and her family?" Gibbs asked the three people in general.

"She was my angel, my beautiful little girl. She was so funny and would give her shirt off her back to anyone. She was so protective of those she loved, she watched over the little brothers like a mother bear and when she had Michael, it was like she had found another level of love."

Tony's heart leapt in his chest … was _he_ Michael?

"And Michael was her only child?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, he was her only child." Doreen's eyes drifted up to a photo on the mantle. From where Tony was he could see the photo was that of a smiling woman holding a toddler, smiles beaming from both of their faces. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he realised he was looking into the eyes of his mother and himself. His head spun. "We found out after the autopsy that she was pregnant though; about 4 months. We didn't know, we don't even know if she knew although at 4 months …" Doreen drifted off, lost in fantastical thoughts of what her other grandchild would have been like."

Tony couldn't help but wonder if his father knew. Could that be why he killed her? Did another child complicate his life further? He could see that one child could cramp his serial killer lifestyle so surely two would put an end to it. Maybe he just didn't want more children … did he not want Tony? Actually, Michael – did he not want Michael?

He had to get himself under control; he had to pull himself together. He dropped his head and took some deep breaths to try and calm himself.

"Are you ok?" Asked George, noting Tony's distress. "Would you like some water?"

Tony looked up, worried if he answered he would have to deal with Gibbs wrath when they left but the room had started spinning and it wasn't looking like it was about to stop, "No I'm fine … just still getting over a bit of travel sickness. That's all."

"George, take him into the kitchen and get him a cold drink," Doreen said, "He is pale as a ghost the poor boy." She shot Tony a lovely smile that showed so much concern for a total stranger, he could only imagine how much love she had shown him as a child. He didn't want to leave the conversation but he was feeling a little faint to be honest.

He followed George into the kitchen but didn't miss the warning look Gibbs shot him as he left the room.

"Here take a seat," George indicated a round table with four vinyl chairs around, looking to be from the 70's.

George went to the fridge and grabbed out a pitcher of drink and a glass from the cupboard. "Hope you like lemonade. Mum made it herself; she makes the best lemonade. My wife has tried to replicate it but she just can't get it quite right."

"You are married?" Tony asked, trying to not break the rules but curious about his newfound family members.

"Yep, 35 years now. Four kids and now six grandkids with another on the way."

Tony worked out the relationship in his mind, four cousins and six second cousins (are they second cousins or cousins once removed – he could never work that out).

"I'm sorry about your sister, that must have been hard on your mother." Tony knew he was skirting Gibbs rules but he couldn't just sit hear and not talk like some weirdo. George was already shooting Tony strange looks.

"It was, but I have to hand it too her, she is a strong woman, hasn't stopped hoping they would find who did it."

"And your father? Is he still around?" _My grandfather?_

"My dad passed away almost thirty years ago now, it basically killed him; losing her. Julie was his little princess, he loved her - don't get me wrong, he loved us too – it's just he had something special with Julie. When she died he just became a shell of a man, he died only 5 years later. I am convinced he died of a broken heart." George took a sip of his lemonade, lost in his memories. "He found her you know. They hadn't heard from her for a few days and when she didn't turn up for their Saturday lunch he went over to her place … and there she was. I can't even imagine finding your child like that."

"And her son?" Tony asked, not making eye contact, not wanting to give any hint as to how important this answer was to him.

"Gone along with her husband. We assume he took him with him. Well we hope that is what he did with him. Don't even want to entertain the alternatives. Michael was such a pistol! He was the first grandchild so he could do no wrong in mom and dad's eyes. Our little Christmas gift dad called him."

Tony frowned, "Why was that?"

"He was born at eight in the evening on Christmas eve. We all agree he was the best present we ever got."

Tony did a quick calculation in his head, 6 months different to his current 'birthday', but which way, was he older or younger?

"And how old was he when he disappeared? Four wasn't it?" He knew she was found dead in the November of '72.

"Not quite, he was about to turn 4 when he …"

 _Younger, I am six months younger!_

"Hell we don't even know if he is alive. He was declared dead after 20 years but we just don't know. I mean was he killed too? Why murder your wife and then take your kid on the run with you? What kind of life is that for him. But what kind of man could kill his own child … I don't know what would be worse for him. He was such a sweet kid, had a heart of gold just like Julie, I think that is one of the hardest things we have lived with all these years, never knowing what happened to little Michael. Hoping he never took after his father."

 _I'm right here Uncle George._ But of course he didn't say it.

"I have to ask, have you found that bastard?" George asked.

Tony cleared his throat, he wanted to give this man some hope, but he was also a Federal Agent and he knew the rules. "I'm sorry, we can't discuss an ongoing investigation."

George nodded his head, "I understand, but promise me this, if you find the bastard, make sure he rots in prison for the rest of his miserable life, what ever is left of it. Not just for us, but for Michael too."

Tony could only nod, not trusting his voice as his throat closed up from the pent up emotions.

"DiNozzo, are you ready?" Gibbs called from the lounge room.

Tony jumped up, "Yes boss."

They said their goodbyes, promising to keep the family in the loop and took their leave.

"What happened in the kitchen?" Gibbs asked when they were in the privacy of the car.

Tony looked out the passenger window of the car as Gibbs pulled out of the driveway, "I found out my birthday and the good news is I am six months younger than I thought. And I am a Capricorn … I think it's Capricorn, or is it Sagittarius?"

Tony looked over at Gibbs, "I didn't say anything"

Gibbs nodded, and handed Tony a large buff envelope, "Here, this is for you."

Tony took the envelope and opened it to find a copy of the photo from the mantle. "They gave you this?" he asked.

"Printed out a copy, Harry has digitalised them or something."

"Digitized."

"What ever. I asked if I could get a copy of the photo for our file and he printed it out for me. I figure we don't really need it for the file."

Tony stared at his mother, "Thanks Gibbs." This time he didn't bother hiding the catch in his throat.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

After arriving back in DC Gibbs took Tony back to his house and ordered him upstairs to get some sleep. Tony doubted he would get any but 10 hours later he awoke to the smell of bacon frying.

"About time DiNozzo, I thought I was going to have to throw a bucket of water on you."

"Most people just call out or even shake someone to wake them up."

Gibbs smiled and gave Tony a plate of food that was piled high with bacon, eggs, pancakes and beans. "Eat!"

Again Tony doubted he could eat very much but, just like his sleep, he managed way more than he expected.

He pushed his plate away. "What now Boss?"

Just then the front door opened and in came FBI Agent Tobias Fornell.

"Got any left for me Jethro?" He asked as he took a seat at the table with Tony.

"DiNozzo," he said with his usual Italian pronunciation, which made it sound more like 'DeNutso'. "Or should I call you Brooks now?"

Tony looked at Gibbs, "You told him!"

"Relax DiNozzo, your secret is safe with me … until it goes public that is."

"What?" Tony asked, confused as to what was happening.

Gibbs came back to the table with a plate of food for Fornell, "I spoke to Tim and Abby last night and we have enough to make an arrest."

"Oh," Tony said. He knew this was going to happen but it still struck him hard. As much as he was disgusted beyond belief with his father, hated him like he had never hated anyone in his life; he was still his father and he still had that need to protect him that was so inbred in him. After all, he had thought he had murdered someone for him for all these years.

"And that is where I come in," Fornell said with a mouthful of bacon. "Got coffee Gibbs?"

Gibbs shook his head, "What am I? Your butler," he said but got up to grabbed a cup for him, "Want one DiNozzo?"

Lost in thought, Tony answered "No thanks, your coffee sucks."

Fornell laughed causing him to almost choke, he took a large swig of the offered coffee to wash away the offending food. "He's not wrong you know."

"I never heard you complain before."

"What can I say, I'm a polite house guest. Besides if you …"

"HEY! Enough with the Desperate Housewife act. Can someone tell me what is going on," Tony shouted.

Gibbs sat down again, "This isn't an NCIS case Tony. I spoke to Vance and there is no way we can keep this in house. We have no jurisdiction and quite frankly the fact we even ran with it this long and ran evidence is stretching the limits of legality. Not to mention Leon's patience with me. He made a few call and the FBI have agreed to take over and cover us for the forensics and they also agreed to let Fornell run it from here."

"This will be quite the feather in the FBI's cap if we catch your father DiNozzo, so from here in we run it by the book," Fornell said.

"And I suppose you will look pretty good yourself bringing the one to crack a cold case like this." Tony said, still cranky (and worried) that it was out of Gibbs hands.

Fornell shrugged, "That's never been my concern." He leant forward, "Tony I will do everything I can to help you out of this really, _really,_ deep shit hole you have dug yourself over the last … what is it 30 years?"

Tony had no choice but to trust Fornell would have his back, "Ok then, what do we do now?" Tony asked.

"Well, from what Gibbs told me, you can contact your father can't you?" He reached into his pocket.

"I'm only supposed to call him if I run. I have to wait for him to contact me otherwise."

Fornell pulled out the burner phone Gibbs took of Tony when he tried to run. It was in a taped evidence bag and he could see both Gibbs and Fornell's signatures on them as per the chain of evidence procedures followed by all law enforcement.

Fornell slid the phone over too him. "Then you tell him you are running. Ask to meet up with him."

"I don't know that he will meet me."

"Then you make him. Come on Tony, I know you can convince most people to do what you want. Hell you made us all believe you were an outstanding Federal Agent. Surely convincing Daddy for one last hug won't be too much for you." Fornell said.

"I AM and outstanding Federal Agent," Tony shot back but from the look on his face, Tony could tell that Fornell wasn't completely convinced of Tony's innocence in all of this, no matter what he said to them. The evidence bag, the steely gaze; yep, for now at least, Tony was a criminal to the FBI and not a friend.

He looked over at Gibbs. "You don't have any other choice Tony. He is your only leverage in this. If he runs I don't think you will walk away from this. Now this is in their hands, the FBI want an arrest for this and if they can't get your father … that only leaves you."

Tony thought for a moment. He had no way to prove he didn't know what his father had done. He knowingly changed his name and had lived under a false identity for the last 30 years. He had confessed to murder (just because it turned out to be attempted murder didn't detract from his deceit) and disposal of a dead body. Sure he was a minor at the time (now he knew his birthday he was not longer in doubt about that) but he has had a long time when he could have come forward with the crime. Add obstruction of justice to that list of felonies … Just these alone would see him sit in a maximum security prison for the next 20 years, and if they decided to charge him as an accessory to these murders, he would never see the outside of a prison cell until the day he died.

The large meal he had just eaten was threatening to come back up. "Ok, but on one condition." Fornell's eyebrow shot up. "I want to sign an immunity deal first."

Gibbs grinned, proud of his protege but Fornell looked incredulous, "Are you serious?"

"I want to sign an immunity deal first." Tony had worked in law enforcement long enough, and dealt with enough lawyers to know this was his only chance. Even if they catch his father, there was no guarantee they wouldn't still go after him for something. He also knew it was something he would have to ask for himself, because no US Attorney would offer it out of the kindness of their heart. "If I can bring down a serial killer, responsible for … what is it now, six deaths – and that is only what has been found so far – all over the east coast of the US, all unsolved for _at least_ 30 years, then I think that is worth full immunity."

Fornell smiled and winked at Tony, "I thought you might have enough brains to ask so I already made the call DiNuttso, the USA is on the way with the paperwork. _But_ you know how this works; no arrest, no immunity."

"I know."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

Shortly thereafter the US Attorney arrived and went over the conditions of the immunity deal with Tony. Tony had waived his right to council and the paperwork was signed. At least now Tony was safe from prosecution; if all went according to plan, that is.

Now they had to work out how to get Senior to agree to meet up with his son. They sat together and tried to work out the best options. Unfortunately, because Tony had no idea where his father was (last time he spoke to his father he said he was "working" in Melbourne, Florida), or even if he was still in the country, they would have to wait for Senior to suggest where to meet. Thankfully the FBI had offices in all major cities so they could scramble to where the needed to be if given enough time.

McGee arrived while they were formulating their next move and removed the burner from the evidence bag and hooked it up to his laptop. They were going to record the conversation and also hopefully get a lock on Senior's phone. No doubt he would throw it away when the call was over but hopefully they could track him down from the point of origin. There was a lot hanging on this one call.

Finally they came up with every possible scenario they could think of and it was now time for Tony to make the call.

Tim handed Tony the phone. "Try and keep him talking as long as you can so we can get the trace on him."

"I know how this works McGee," Tony snapped. Tim didn't say anything, knowing that Tony was under a huge amount of stress. If this didn't work his friend was facing a long time in jail.

"Good luck Tony."

Tony took the phone, took a moment and almost seemed to be listening to something. "It's too quiet."

"What do you mean?" Gibbs asked.

"I live in Dupont Circle. It's always noisy. I would be on foot heading to the train station to go to the airport. There is no noise here."

"Ok, just give me a minute," McGee typed on his keypad, clicked his mouse a few times and traffic noise started to emanate from his computer, "How's that?"

"Yep, that's good. OK, here goes." Again Tony took a short moment to get him self mentally prepared for the call. It wasn't just a matter of having to call his father; he had to be in the mindset of how he would sound if it was really happening. Just like his undercover work, and the backstories he created, he had to make it believable to his own ears, and not just Senior's. He took himself back to Tuesday night, the night he was going to make the call for real. He dialled the only number in the phone's contact list, John Smith.

It rung … and rung. There was no answer. An automated voice said, "The person you are trying to reach is unavailable. Try again later." The call was disconnected.

Tony stared at the phone. They had considered so many things about the call, what to say, how to say it, how to sound. This was not a variable they had actually thought about.

He looked up at Gibbs, Fornell and McGee and it was obvious from the look on their faces, they hadn't anticipated it either.

"Now what?" McGee asked.

"We try again in a little while," Gibbs said and took a seat. "Until then we wait."

Tony thought about where his phone had been buried these last couple of years since his father had given it to him. His had been in the back of his closet in a secret panel, opened once a month to ensure it was charged. He realised if his father had ever tried to contact him he probably would never have heard the call. It could have been weeks before he checked the phone and noticed a call.

What if his father had done the same thing. What if he couldn't hear it ring from where it was hidden? What if he didn't even have it anymore? Maybe he had used it for some other purpose and disposed of it. Maybe he had changed his mind after giving Tony the phone that it wasn't a good idea and threw it away. What if … the phone started to ring in his hand. The display showed the only name in the contacts, John Smith.

"McGee, background noise," Gibbs said. McGee hit the spacebar and the sound of traffic started once again.

Tony took a quick breath and answered, "Dad! Why didn't you answer? You said I could call you when I needed you." Tony sounded panicked but the men could tell from the concentration on his face he was merely playing the part.

"Relax son I am here now. What is going on? Why have you called?" McGee could hear Senior's voice in the headphones he had on but Gibbs and Fornell could only hear one side of the conversation.

"They know. I think they know. I'm running, like you told me to."

"Know what?" Senior asked.

"You know damn well what! They know that I'm not who I say I am. Fuck, thirty fucking years and I am back on the God damn run again. I thought I was out of this game."

"How did they find out?" Senior asked. Tony knew he had to sell this, any slip up here and Senior would know something was up. He decided to go with the truth … again he went back to Tuesday night when his life changed forever.

"Fucking McGee went up to Long Island and went into a shop owned by a DiNozzo. He told them they are the only DiNozzo's and whoever I am I am lying. Gibbs and McGee just came around to confront me. I told them we were in Witness Protection and they have gone off to check but … Fuck I just grabbed my gear and ran. They will know that is bullshit in no time and they will get a BOLO out for me. I have to get on a plane before they do that."

"I'm sorry that happened but you have made the right choice. If they find out what you did you will go to jail. You know that. Running is the only option for you." McGee shook his head in disbelief, not only had Tony believed he killed that man for all of these years, but his father was perpetuating the lie, knowing full well Tony was innocent. He couldn't believe he was encouraging Tony to run; just to he could cover his own guilty ass.

"Don't you think I know that!" A loud horn blasted from the speaker causing Tony to jump and throw a cranky look McGee's way.

"What was that? Where are you?"

"I almost got hit by a truck, I'm on the way to the train station, I am going to try and get on a plane before they put out a BOLO for me. It may already be too late."

"You have to be careful, you can't draw any attention to yourself."

"Stop telling me what I already know! I'm sorry if I am not following my road safety rules but they tend to go out the window when you go on the fucking run!"

"Calm down Son. Take a breath."

Tony relaxed a bit, it sounds like his father was buying his story. "Where are you Dad? I will come to you." Tony was manipulating the conversation to try and get as much information from Senior as he could.

"That's not a good idea. Give me a minute and I will call you back," and with that the phone disconnected.

Tony was shocked, had his father picked up on something to make him not believe what Tony was saying. Was it the truck sound that tipped him off? Was he going to jail for the rest of his life because McGee couldn't load street sounds?

Gibbs looked at McGee, "Did you get him?"

McGee shook his head, "No. I'm so sorry Tony."


	15. Chapter 15

**NOTES: Only 4 more chapters to go including this one. Glad you are all still enjoying my little trip into my warped mind :)**

 **Thanks for those who pointed out my error - corrected now.**

 **Chapter 15:**

"Damn," McGee said. He wasn't on the phone long enough to get him; it was only 32 seconds, we need at least 40.

"He probably knows that, that could why he hung up." Tony said, desperately hoping that was the reason.

"Try him again, DiNozzo," Gibbs said.

Before Tony could dial the phone rang again. "What the hell Dad, why did you hang up?"

"I had to think for a minute. I don't want you to come to me. You just need to run and save yourself. What name are you under. I will try and find you later when things settle down. Where are you heading?"

That threw Tony. "What do you mean I can't come to see you? You understand that you may never see me again don't you. If they catch me I am done for."

"I understand that son, but it isn't safe, you could put us both in jeopardy."

Tony knew he needed to get his father to agree so he let all his pent up emotions bubble up and hoped it would work. It was his last chance. Tears sprung from his eyes, his throat closed up and when he spoke the pain and fear was all to clear to everyone. Hopefully to his father as well, and hopefully he had some genuine feelings left for his only child, "Please Dad. I can't just walk away and never see you again. You are all I have left. I am turning my back on my entire life … a life _you_ forced me to live! I don't think I can just start all over again." He paused for a moment, then said, "I don't think I can go on like this."

Tony's head was down and resting in one of his hands but Gibbs could see the tears dripping freely down onto Tony's pants. He suspected Fornell was just admiring his acting ability, but Gibbs knew he was seeing the real emotions of not just Anthony DiNozzo Jr but also young Michael Brooks who was forced to live a life no child should.

"Can't we meet somewhere, even if it is just for a minute." He waited a moment and then quietly, "Please Dad. I have to say ... goodbye." He left the meaning of 'goodbye' ambiguous, but he hoped his father would understand the implications of that word and that it would strike at the paternal feelings Tony hoped his father felt.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not sure, I was going to fly to Florida because that is where you said you were last time we spoke. Are you still there? I don't know where else to go if I can't see you, maybe… Oh God maybe I shouldn't run, I should hand myself in … I don't know…"

"No you can't do that!" Senior snapped, he continued on in a calmer voice, "You are just scared now son. I understand that. I've been there too. I'm up North, how about you go to Canada? I can help you get across the border. From there you can go to Cuba or the UAE or someplace they can't get to you." It had worked.

"I don't have a passport."

"I can get you one. What's your new name and the date of birth?"

Tony supplied him with the new identity he had picked out.

"Ok, give me a while to get this ready for you. Head up to Boston and wait at the airport; do you have anything you can use as a disguise? Wear some glasses and a hat or something. But look inconspicuous. And don't stay in one place too long; move from gate to gate and try and stay in larger groups of people; don't sit alone. I might take a while but I will find you, Ok?

"Ok, but if the BOLO is country wide, they will be looking for me. I'm not going to fight them."

"Those airport guards have hundreds of things to look for these days. Blend in and they won't even see you. Now promise me you make any rash decisions like hand yourself in. I want to see you too son."

And just like that Tony had managed get his fathers to not only agree to meet him, but insist he promise him he would. McGee who was the only one listening to both sides was impressed with how Tony managed to manipulate the manipulator. Impressed and a little scared.

"OK, I promise." Tony said.

"See you soon, Son," again senior ended the call.

Got him! McGee said. McGee pointed out a flashing green dot on a map of Rhode Island. "Looks like he's in Providence."

Fornell got out his phone and spoke to one of his agents. They were sending the closest agents to Providence to try and find him but they were to follow and observe only.

The four men watched the dot on the screen for a couple of more minutes before it disappeared from the screen. He had no doubt destroyed and dumped the phone. Nothing they weren't expecting, but it was disappointing.

"Call it again." Gibbs suggested.

Tony called the number for John Smith again but knew what to expect. That same electronic voice telling him once again the person he was calling was unavailable.

There was no return call this time.

"Now what?" McGee asked.

"Now we go to Boston," Fornell supplied.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

If Tony had been annoyed with the way Gibbs had treated him like a wayward child these last few days, it was nothing compared with the FBI. Basically, Tony was now a _'person of interest'_ for the FBI (code for suspect) and while Fornell had been fairly blasé about it all this morning, now that it was a full blown operation with multiple agents and various jurisdictions in play, Tony was handcuffed and an agent was at his elbow at all times. Fornell had agreed to allow Gibbs to remain part of the investigation, for Tony's sake, but they both knew that Gibbs would hold little sway going forward.

This was a serial killer case that would garnish a lot of attention by both the media and the head honchoes of the DOJ. If Tony's father managed to slip away then Tony would stand little chance of being let off. In fact he was pretty sure they would try and add a few more charges to the list if at all possible.

Some two and a half hours later Tony and Gibbs were in Boston care of an FBI private plane. The plan was that Tony was to enter the airport with the other passengers from the flight that Tony would most likely have taken from DC to Boston if he had run. They didn't know if Tony's father would be watching but they didn't want to take the chance. Tony was wired with a microphone and a pinhole camera was hidden in the frame off the glasses he was to wear as part of his 'disguise'. They would record everything he saw and said. He also had a GPS tracker in a special watch supplied by the FBI. The watch could only be removed by a key which was held by Fornell. They wanted to make sure their star witness (or main suspect depending on how this night turned out) couldn't flee when the cuffs came off. There was no way Tony could run unless he was willing to cut his arm off to get rid of the watch. Because they didn't want to risk Senior seeing a receiver in Tony's ear, Tony wasn't able to hear anything, or receive instructions, but everything he said and saw was being fed back to the team.

Gibbs, Fornell and his team would monitor everything from a conference room in the airport the Transport Security Administration had agreed to supply for this case, while other agents spread out to watch for Tony's father. Again they were to observe only. Fornell would give the word when it was time to move in.

Once the flight from DC landed, Tony was lead out from the terminal onto the tarmac and then to the stairs leading up to the walkway. At the foot of the stairs the handcuffs were removed and Tony was handed his run bag (less any cash and weapons) as well as the glasses and a black baseball cap. He put the glasses and the hat on and slung the bag over his shoulder and headed up the stairs where the TSA agent unlocked the door. Tony slipped through and blended in with the other passengers from the plane. From here on in, he was on his own but he knew there were many eyes (and probably several guns) trained on him.

He blended in with the crowd and as he exited the gate he quickly gazed around to see if he saw his father. He didn't know if he would even be at the airport but they had to cover their bases. He made his way through the airport, checking at a few gates to see if his father had arrived before him.

Tony knew that if his father was trying to source a passport, as he suspected, it would take some time for that to be ready. As Senior wasn't here, he figured he ad some time to kill. Tony walked over to a newsstand and with the $10 Gibbs had slipped into his pocket, he bought a coffee and a newspaper. If he had to wait he had to look like someone waiting for a layover, and they would be reading something.

He took a seat near one of the gates that had several people waiting for their flight and tried to look inconspicuous. Honestly though, because all of the airport security were aware of the FBI sting, he could start to do a dance recital and no one would say anything. That might tip is father off though.

Hours passed and during that time Tony had taken a few walks around the airport to stretch his legs, bought one more coffee from the last of the cash and moved from gate to gate, sticking with the gates with several people waiting and then slipping away with the arriving passengers when it was time to move. This seemed to do the trick because between his non descript clothing, his apparent interest in the news paper and the fact he stayed at one gate no longer than an hour, no one even seemed to notice he existed.

It was nearly 11pm and Tony had given up on Senior turning up. He was slumped in a chair, arms crossed over his chest, legs outstretched and head leaning back on this seat enjoying his last moments as a free man. Soon he would be locked away behind bars, waiting for death to come. He was lost in his waking nightmare when he felt the seat jump as someone sat a couple of seats down from him.

"Glad to see you made it son," came Senior's unmistakable baritone from beside him.

"I've been waiting for ages! I thought you had changed your mind," Tony said, turning to look at his father. Senior had a full grey beard and a pair of round glasses making Tony doubt who he was talking to for a moment, having only ever dealt the immaculately groomed and dressed 'Anthony DiNozzo Sr' since he was dropped off at Remington all those years ago. "Christ, you look like Santa Claus!"

"And I have a present for you. Here this is yours," Senior reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a Canadian passport and handed it to Tony. "Sorry but it took a little more time than I thought to organise. I could have had an Australian one two hours ago but I didn't think you could pull off the accent."

Tony opened it and saw a picture of someone who looked enough like him to be his brother. At a quick glance this person could pass as Tony but if they looked too closely it might be a problem. "Who's this?"

Senior shot him a look that spoke volumes, "You as far as you know. If you doubt it, they will doubt it. Come on, we have to go, I have a car parked in the lot. Is that all you have?" he asked nodding towards the black duffle bag at Tony's feet.

"Yep."

"Good, grab it and follow me."

Senior started to head towards the doors that lead out of the arrival area, expecting them to open automatically but as he approached they remained stubbornly shut. He turned to go to another door when he saw them.

"FBI hands in the air," several agents were yelling at them both while the crowd around them started to scream and scatter. Senior's eyes darted trying to look for an escape.

It had suggested, and Tony had agreed that both men should to be arrested so that Senior would still believe Tony was on the run and hopefully remain in his confidence.

"Get on your knees hands on your heads," both men complied and it was then that Senior saw Gibbs and Fornell in the pack. "That stubborn bastard."

Gibbs walked up and crouched in front of a kneeling Tony, "So we checked, and it turns out you are _not_ in witness protection, want to tell us who you really are?"

Tony clamped his mouth shut, playing the part of a non co-operating suspect.

"Ok then, have it your way," Gibbs said, "Antony DiNozzo Jr, or whatever the hell your name is, you are under arrest for identity fraud, impersonating a Federal Agent and attempting to flee the country under an assumed name." Gibbs hauled him up onto his feet. "Fornell, you want that one." He pointed to Senior.

"Sure, Anthony DiNozzo Sr, or what ever the hell _your_ name is, you are also under arrest for identity fraud and aiding and abetting a criminal to flee the country. That will do for starters. We will work on the rest later."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

"Don't say anything son," Senior said as they were read their rights and led through the airport.

"Thanks Dad but I think I know the drill."

"How about the pair of you keep your traps shut!" Gibbs said.

They were taken through security doors to the private access area where the Airport had their interrogation rooms and holding cells located.

"They can stay in here until we can get the flight cleared to take them back to DC." Fornell told Gibbs. "You watch them while I go and get cleared for takeoff. Hopefully we can get out of here within the hour."

Gibbs took both men into one of the rooms and sat them down. He unlocked their cuffs from behind their backs and resecured them in front so they would be more comfortable. He removed their hats and glasses and threw them on the table but just out of reach, ensuring the glasses Tony had worn faced both men. It was hoped Tony could get his father to admit at least some of what he had done making prosecuting him all the easier. He then went and stood in the corner of the room, like a silent sentinel.

They sat in silence for close to a half an hour when suddenly the room's lights went out. Only the emergency exit sign gave everyone in the room an eerie green glow.

"What the hell," Gibbs said. He opened the door to the now dimly lit hallway and stuck his head out, "Fornell, turn the damn lights back on."

There was no answer, "Fornell!" he shouted. "Damn it." He turned to the men, "stay here and not a word. I'll be back in a minute."

Gibbs left the room with one last glance over his shoulder. The black out had been pre planned, giving Gibbs a reason to leave the room and allow Tony to be alone and unsupervised with his father.

Senior looked up in the corner and noted that the red light on the camera had also gone off. He assumed they could now talk without being overheard. "Son, what did you tell him when he came around," Senior asked.

"I told you what I said," Tony said playing the part of a petulant detainee. "What you think this is _my_ fault?"

"You didn't tell him about… what you did?"

"No, but they will find out, it's Gibbs. Hell, he probably already knows. If I confess maybe they will let me off with a lighter sentence and I will say you were just trying to protect me. Maybe you will get off completely."

"Son, now lets not do anything hasty - lets discuss this … quickly," Senior said. "Now what I want you to say ..."

"Can you tell me one thing, before he comes back?" Tony interrupted, looking at his father, "what is my name?"

"Now son, that is the past, we have to worry about what is happening now. So when they come back…"

"Ok then, who was my mother?" Tony said starting to sound a little more angry.

"Son, I've told you this before, your mother died in a car accident when you were little. There is nothing else to tell. Why do you want to know now after all this time. Don't you think we have more pressing matters!" Senior was getting frustrated at his son now.

"So you aren't going to tell me anything else about her or me, even though I will probably go to jail and probably never see you again … you are happy for me to _never_ know?"

"Son, I have done everything in my power to protect you, not knowing about your background is part of that. What you don't know you can't tell. Don't you trust me?" Senior was getting antsy now. "You killed a man, everything I have done has been to protect you from that. Confessing now will undo all my work."

"You are of course referring to Donald Hampson," Senior's eyes widened in surprise at that name.

"You know his name? But I thought you never knew who it was."

"I'm a Federal Agent Dad, don't you think I would have been curious all these years?" and he had been curious but his fear of being caught stopped him from ever looking, but Senior didn't know that. Tony leant in closer to Senior, "And you know what?"

His father pulled back as far as he could from someone who had never intimidated him before – until now. "What?" he asked, jaws clenching, eyes darting back and forth as he tried to decide which of Tony's eyes to look at.

Tony whispered, "I didn't kill him."

Tony could see the micro expressions flitter across his father's face until he settled on a look of mock hope, "Son that is fantastic, they have nothing on you now, you don't have to confess."

"No I don't – but _you_ do. You see, it wasn't the hit in the head that _I_ did that killed him, it was the multiple blows from the rock _you_ used to kill him; you know the one you used to tie him down with."

The panic returned to Senior's face, "Son I don't know what …"

Tony tried again, he wanted his father to admit what he had done. "And you know what else? He was the brother of Wanda Thomason, one of my stepmothers. She was found strangled to death in her bed, _coincidentally_ the same night poor Donald went missing." Tony glared at his father, "What are the odds?"

Senior leapt to his feet, "I don't know what you are trying to imply but I won't ..."

Tony leapt up as well, slipping out of the cuffs Gibbs had very loosely put on him, and pushed his father back into the seat. "SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!"

Tony leant in to his father, as close to his face as he could, the anger was rolling off him in waves, "And you know who else you killed?"

"I never killed …"

"There was Sandra Sullivan, Dorothy Harmon and Susan Mendleson … and I am sure there will be more."

"I never heard of those women." Senior said stubbornly. Tony's temper was rising beyond anything he had ever experienced. He would get his man to admit what he did or else.

"Seriously?" Tony spat incredulously while leaning in as close to his father as he could. His fury was building higher with every word he was saying. "You know I was there right! I may not remember them all but I remember Susan and Wanda. You know what else, I gave them my DNA and now we have the physical proof we need. You are done! And you know what other name came up when we looked into you?"

Senior still refused to admit anything, refused to even look at his son – the man who had double-crossed him to save his own ass.

"Does the name Julie Brooks sound familiar?"

Senior turned suddenly and stared at his son's eyes and said weakly, "I don't know who…"

"Ok then, how about _Michael_ Brooks?" Again Senior refused to admit to anything. Tony had never been so angry in his life, his hands clenched so tightly his nails were biting into the skin of his palm. His neck and shoulders so tight anyone touching him would think he was made of stone. He was barely able to restrain himself from punching his father in the face.

"Fuck you... _Michael_!" then Senior spat in Tony's face.

That broke the damn. All the hatred he had been attempting to hold back flooded through his body. Tony grabbed his father by the shirtfront and threw him to the ground. He fell on top of him and started to punch. Blow after blow rained down on his father's face, he felt bones break under his fist. Blood splattered on the walls and floor, cast off from the ferocity of his strikes everytime he lifted his arm back to strike again. He knew he should stop, knew he would kill his father if he kept going, but he had no control over his hands, it was like someone else was controlling his body. He also heard someone screaming; again his conscious mind taking a moment to work out it was him doing the yelling. He had heard people say they felt like they had had out of body experiences, but he never believed them. Now he did; he watched through his eyes, but he was not part of his body. He knew he had to stop but his body would not respond to his mind's demands.

He was going to kill his father, and he was OK with that … more than OK, he deserved it. The hatred had become a physical thing, he could feel it envelope him, could taste it and could even see it. He watched as this murderers face became a bloody misshapen mess, cuffed hands clawed and scratched at Tony's arms and face trying to stop the slaughter.

Arms grabbed him from behind and pulled him from his enemy, words were shouted but they made no sense. He watched as Senior tried to gasp for breath through his broken and bloody face. Tony kicked out, fought against his captors with every last bit of strength in his body to get back, growling in frustration; desperate to finish the job he started but those strong arms held him back keeping him from his prey. That is what he had become, an animal, desperate to take down his weaker opponent. He could hear someone whispering in his ear, "Tony, it's OK, we have him, he's not getting away now. You're OK, you're OK…" Finally these words broke through the fog of rage and he collapsed back against one of the three men holding him back.

His anger gave way to overwhelming sorrow. Why should this man live when so many people had died his hands, including his own mother, and the little boy who had once been know as Michael. Uncontrollable sobs now escaped from him, his body shook and bucked with the power of them. Gibbs and Fornell knew the fight had gone out of him, so they, along with the other Agent needed to restrain him, let him go. He fell to his knees, every ounce of energy gone from his usually strong body.

Gibbs knelt on the floor beside him and put his arm around Tony, pulling him in and holding the crying man as tight as could. "It's over, we got him," he repeated over and over.

Fornell placed his hand on Tony's shoulder and squeezed and then left Gibbs to deal with the distraught man while he helped pulled the disoriented and barely conscious Senior up from the floor and removed him from the room, calling for medical attention as he left.

Eventually Tony regained some composure. He slumped back against the wall and Gibbs sat back beside him. They sat quietly for a long while before Tony finally spoke again, "What happens to me now?"

"We got him; apart from being the star witness, you are free to walk," Gibbs said.

"No I mean... _who_ do I become now?"

Gibbs shook his head, "That I can't answer."


	18. Chapter 18

**NOTES: So here is the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who went on this ride with me. I hope you all enjoyed it. Big thank you for everyone who left a review for the chapters. I love reading them and they give me encouragement to continue with my writing. Until next time.**

 **Cheers Donna**

 **Chapter 18:**

He pulled into the driveway once again, alone this time. The last month had been a bit of a wild ride.

His father had surprised everyone by agreeing to plead guilty. Turns out his father's real name was Sean Pussell. A quick look into that side of the family and Tony realised his father's apple didn't fall far from the rotting Pussell tree. Drug dealers, mobsters and suspected hit men seemed to run in the family. Sometimes finding out who you are isn't all that great.

Fornell informed him that when his father was faced with all the evidence he knew there was no way he was getting off. Tony was in court the day he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. The sentence was not a surprise to anyone. Unfortunately, due to his father's advanced age, the life sentence wouldn't be anywhere long enough for the crimes he committed and the lives he had ruined.

His father turned and saw Tony and looked as if he was about to say something to him, but after looking with some satisfaction at his still bruised and swollen face, Tony stood and walked out without so much as a backwards glance. He never knew if his father was going to ask for forgiveness or tell him to go to hell. He didn't care either way.

Two days ago he had been contacted by the prison and advised that his father had suffered a suspected stroke and that he was being rushed to the hospital. He didn't know if the stroke was real or just another one of his Mr Pussell's scams. He merely told the person on the other end of the phone that he didn't want to be contacted in relation to this prisoner again. She said they would note their records and then she hung up. Who knows, maybe he died, but he truly hoped not. He wanted him to suffer for as long as possible first.

The US Attorney had kept up their end of the immunity deal and after giving a full statement of everything he could remember from his past; he had been released and free to continue on with his life. But who's life, was the question? Legally he was in limbo – a person-non-grata. Anthony DiNozzo was a stolen identify and Michael Brooks was declared dead having been missing for over 20 years. He certainly didn't want to become a Pussell. He literally didn't exist and with that, was legally unemployable. All his assets had also been frozen until it was all sorted out.

However, with the help of the US Attorney's office, contact had been made with the real DiNozzo family in Long Island. They had demanded a face-to-face meeting with the imposter, which Tony was more than happy to attend. After all, the _least_ he owed them was an explanation. While Tony expected to be accompanied by the USA who had helped him out, he hadn't expected Special Agent Leroy Jetho Gibbs, FBI Agent Tobias Fornell and the NCIS Director Leon Vance to also attend.

The DiNozzo's were told by these men, of the life of a young boy; his mother murdered and taken from a loving home and forced to live life on the run by his father, a psychotic serial killer, never even knowing what his real name or age had been. They also told the story of a man who had had tuned his life around by becoming Anthony DiNozzo, not only an upstanding member of society, but an _outstanding_ Federal Agent who had received not one but _two_ Civilian Service Awards for his fight against terrorism against the US Navy.

The DiNozzo family had to agree, they would have been proud if Tony had carried their name by blood. They said that while they were disappointed their family name had been misused without their knowledge, due to the fact he had lead the best life he could, given the circumstances, he was free to continue using it if he so chose. After a few more papers were signed – by a few he meant several hundreds – he _finally_ was legally declared Anthony Dante DiNozzo. He would never referred to himself as _Junior_ again.

Thankfully, all the agencies involved were able to shield him from the media circus that follows such a high profile case. He was simply knows as ' _a confidential informant who had known the accused for many years'_ and his father's alias of Anthony DiNozzo Sr was omitted from any press releases as they gave out only alias's they could link to a known murder. If the media _had_ tried to dig further, the name Anthony DiNozzo only existed as a field agent in a Federal Agency loosely linked to the case.

 _Within_ the agencies though was another matter. Every agent who worked the case knew, as well as all of his or her superiors, all the way up to the big man himself. In fact, no one was willing to make a decision as to whether he could return to NCIS, all waiting on confirmation from their superior. Gibbs wanted Vance to sign off, Vance wanted the Secretary of the Navy to give the OK, Secretary of the Navy wanted the Secretary of Defence to authorise it and he, in turn, wanted the Presidents approval. So basically it was up to the President of the United States to decide if Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo could continue on with his job, or if he had to look for a job bagging groceries.

As President Obama was a somewhat busy man, all he could do was wait. To be honest though, returning to NCIS seemed like a pipe dream.

His friends had come around to try and cheer him up but talking about work was all they really had and it was just something that depressed Tony all the more. Then last night Gibbs had came around with a bottle of Bourbon.

He grabbed a couple of glasses and filled them – a bit more than would be socially acceptable, but that was a Gibbs serve.

He went to take a sip when Gibbs lifted up his glass, "To Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, welcome back to NCIS."

Tony stopped with is glass halfway to his lips, "Seriously?"

"Yep, approval just came down the line a half an hour ago, and I already have your first assignment." He pulled Tony's badge, gun and ID from his pocket and put on the table between them.

Tony smiled broadly, eager to get back to the job he loved, "Great! What is it?"

"You are on a plane to Chicago tomorrow to inform the Brooks family that we have located Michael Brooks."

Tony almost spat out the Bourbon he had just sipped. After he finished coughing he said, "Are you sure. Isn't that something that should come from … _anyone else?"_

Gibbs downed his glass and stood, "Nope, you need to do this. They are expecting you at 1100 so don't drink too much of that." And with that, he left.

And now he was here, in the driveway of the Books family home. _His_ family home he supposed. His stomach churned, his heart beat against his chest as if looking for escape and he could feel a sheen of sweat cover his body. He had spent the last 10 minutes going over scenarios in his mind of how he was going to tell them. He wanted just the right words to say.

 _'Hi, I'm Michael,'_ wouldn't do. How about, _'Mrs Brooks, I am here to inform you your grandson has been located'._ He had been thought of hundreds of ways of saying it, but none of them seemed quite right.

He saw the front door open and Doreen Brooks, his grandmother, step out onto the porch and wave.

Tony took a deep breath and opened the car door.

"Hello Agent DiNozzo, it's good to see you again. I have made some lemonade if you would like some. I hope you are feeling better than you were last time."

Tony smiled down at the elderly woman, "I am and lemonade sounds lovely, thank you."

He entered the house and once again was greeted by George and Harry.

"You look better than last time we saw you," George said, slapping Tony on the back as he showed him to his seat. Doreen filled a glass with her home made lemonade and handed it to Tony.

"I don't know, he still looks a little green around the gills to me," Harry said.

"Shush boys, let him talk. Agent Gibbs told me on the phone there had been some developments about the case." She looked directly at Tony with those eyes desperate for answers, "Did that man, did he tell you what happened to … Michael" Her voice hitched on the last word.

Tony took a deep breath and started what was going to be a very long tale, "Yes ma'am, I am here to tell you where Michael is."

 **The End**


End file.
